From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Mon Feb 18 2002 - 09:30:36 PST
Doc,
>Many of the worlds biggest atrocities were committed by the "left". Hitler
>and the Nazi's were very socialist, and incredibly Fascist. Look at the
>Soviet Union. Very leftist Communist.
The difference between the extreme right and extreme left is tiny. At
somepoint things come full circle. But if you look at the way their
economies work, there is a rather huge difference. Nazi Germany had one
of the most capitalist systems of government ever seen in this century,
while the Soviet Union one of the least.
>What's sensible about it? Shouldn't the marketplace decide which vehicles
>are driven or not driven?
Ah, but this assumes that the marketplace is capable of making this decision.
>Neither the Government NOR the Industry should decide what's in the
>customer's best interest. That should be decided by the customer. Want a
>"safer" car? Buy it. Want cheaper insurance? Buy the car with better
>safety ratings. Want better gas mileage? Buy it.
But if it isn't offered, then how are we to buy it? From a technology
standpoint, cars which never rust and get 60 mpg have been practical for
at least 20 years. Yet only now are some starting to come out into the
market place, partially due to stronger government regulations and
greater competition from overseas. So why weren't these vehicles
available before? Because it is not in the best interest of industry to
make major design and production changes. If you read about the history
of the seatbelt, you will see how willing industry is to make even MINOR
modifications to benefit their customers.
>The current popularity
>of the SUV is directly related to the Government doing away with station
>wagons because of arbitrary fuel economy ratings. My V-8 Crown Victoria
>station wagon gets lot's better gas mileage than SUV's far smaller.
Actually, the SUV explosion is thanks to industry influenced loopholes in
safety and fuel economy standards. "Light trucks" were exempted for
commercial reasons, but now these vehicles are in use by soccer moms.
And notice Government is quite slow to close the loopholes up.
>They say that the only things that you find down the middle of the road are
>yellow stripes and dead animals!
And on the extremes you find what? One side living off the winnings
taken from the other side.
>I didn't think we were discussing the problems of the world. In the case
>of old vehicle confiscation, it is a liberal left conspiracy to do away
>with old cars. Issue by issue we can blame the left or right. On this one
>it's the left.
Fine, but using your black and white veiewpint it is the "right" that has
made the need even exist in the first place. Republicans/conservatives
are well known for coddling industry at the expense of the people's
health and long term economic well being. Enron is just one of the fine
examples of Republican coddling.
Steve
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