Don't miss "Salvaging the Auto Industry," a Boston Globe op-ed from Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), two of the Dems' brightest lights on energy issues. (Inslee wrote a piece in Grist on his New Apollo Energy Act.)
Obama and Inslee propose a piece of legislation called the "Health Care for Hybrids" Act. The idea is that the feds would help American auto companies pay some of their enormous healthcare costs; in return, the companies would commit to using the money to develop fuel-efficient vehicles.
I'm a little dubious about the bill on the merits.
For one thing, the growing inability of American corporations to keep up with healthcare costs, while painful in the short term, is part of the inevitable transition to universal, government-run health care (and yes, Virginia, it is inevitable). Little stopgap measures like this only delay that process -- or worse, create the illusion that government-funded, industry-provided, insurance-company-administered health care is somehow a desirable outcome, as opposed to a monstrous melange of inefficiencies.
For another, while it may be true that healthcare costs that are preventing American automakers from staying solvent (though I think that's been exaggerated a bit), it certainly isn't true that healthcare costs are preventing American automakers from investing what money they do invest in fuel-efficient cars. In effect, Obama and Inslee are saying to GM et al., "we'll shovel some money your way as long as you promise to spend it in a way that will reverse your decline and serve your shareholders."
I mean, I'm no libertarian, but if a company has to be paid to do that, perhaps they're not fit to compete in the global marketplace at all, no?
On the other hand, it's great that these issues are gaining traction, and it's wise for Obama and Inslee to get out ahead of them. So there's that.
Update [2006-2-9 10:19:52 by David Roberts]: Ah, and of course I would be remiss not to point out that our very own Amanda Griscom Little penned a column in part about this very matter, delightfully titled "The School of Barack." I say "delightfully" because, if memory serves, I titled it.
Boxer and Reid delay Senate action on climate bill until September
“Historic consensus” at G8 on climate change, says Obama
MoveOn calls on Senate to preserve Clean Air Act in climate bill
Comments
View as Flat
Ana Unruh Cohen Posted 8:10 am
09 Feb 2006
Learn more
You can learn more about the idea by reading the white (or should it be green?) paper that my colleague, Bracken Hendricks, and others wrote to help develop the legislation.
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johnfrancis Posted 8:38 am
09 Feb 2006
Bracking Barack
As an unregistered libertarian in deep cover, you are entirely correct, the guys on the right track; clearly vp material, needing more definition of projects. is anyone ever going to get real?
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Katherine Posted 1:55 pm
09 Feb 2006
Health Care for Hybrids
I think this is a silly idea. I think the auto industry is basically using the workers' healthcare costs as a way to get more money. They get lots of profit when they sell an automobile, and now they want even more profit because they do not want to pay any healthcare costs. I think if the government gives them money (our tax dollars!) because they are having trouble paying healthcare costs, they should use it to pay healthcare costs, not develop new technology. Does that make sense? We give them money to help pay for healthcare and they spend in in developing new products to charge us more money to buy it when we already paid to develop it...and still the healthcare problem is there. Makes no sense to me.
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amazingdrx Posted 8:37 pm
09 Feb 2006
Subsidies.
This notion of a carrot and stick is not bad.
But it is in reverse.
First the stick: With these stuborn leviathan corporate mules..a 2x4 upside their head, to get their attention. Take ALL their tax breaks and subsidies away.
Then the carrot: Give some of that loot back to individual citizens to subsidize the purchase of real green products like plugin hybrids, geothernal heat pumps for home heating/cooling, and wind and solar systems.
Barak has to realize that every democratic presidential hopefull must now be compared to Feingold, the only politician that never compromises his principles.
This corporate welfare disguised as health care for hybrids plan is a compromise of principles.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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