Elections Do Matter

[Anti Federalist]

Elections Do Matter

https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2019/07/14/elections-do-matter/

By eric - July 14, 2019

Donald Trump isn’t a Libertarian – but he is the guy who just rescinded the fatwa imposed by his extremely un-Libertarian predecessor that would have almost tripled the fines imposed on car companies that didn’t “achieve compliance” with federal fuel economy mandatory minimums.

This is no small thing – because of the other fatwa, still in place. The one which decrees a near-doubling of the average mileage new cars will be required to achieve over the course of the next six years.

Orange Man is working on that one.

Regardless, he just saved you a lot of money – and may just have saved the car industry, too.

At least, for the moment.

The fines rescinded were the billy stick used to enforce federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regs. These regs stipulate an arbitrary “fleet average” mileage number every car company’s model lineup must meet.

This arbitrarily decreed number – arbitrary because it’s just “decided” upon by federal bureaucrats, at their whim, based upon what they – in their infinite wisdom – consider to be “achievable,” no matter what it costs – has been steadily rising since the late ‘70s, from around 22 miles-per-gallon to the current 30-something miles-per-gallon.

Over the past 30-something years, cars have become more “efficient” as a result of this gradual ratcheting-up of CAFE requirements. They have also become progressively more expensive with each ratcheting up – since it takes technology to “achieve compliance” while also maintaining the attributes car buyers expect, such as the physical size of the vehicle as well as its power/performance/capability.

It is hard to get a car to average 30-something MPG while also being not small and able to get to 60 MPH in less than 8 seconds (most buyers won’t buy a car that can’t do this).

Or carry a family – as opposed to a single driver and perhaps one passenger. And have the power to pull a trailer.

Etc.

People do value gas mileage. Just not gas mileage uber alles – as the un-Libertarians in government insists they do.

If they did value it uber alles, the car companies would not need to be forced – by punishing fines – to build such cars. They would respond to . . . the market for such cars.

The problem – from the point-of-view of the un-Libertarians in government – is that there is a market for other cars. Which the government is trying to stifle, via fines that punish the market for daring to express preferences which differ from the demands of the un-Libertarians in government.

The fines are currently set at $5.50 for every 0.1 MPG below the current arbitrarily-decreed “fleet average” of 30-something MPG.

They were about to almost tripled to $14 for the same “crime” – i.e., manufacturing cars that met the requirements of car buyers rather than “achieved compliance” with government gas mileage fatwas.

This is as un-Libertarian as it gets.

It’s also the billy stick that would have given the other fatwa – the near-doubling of the arbitrarily decreed mandatory minimum “fleet average” from 30-something to 50-something MPG that Orange Man is still trying to rescind – skull-crushing power.

To understand why one must first know that there are only two cars on the market that “achieve compliance” with the doubled-down 50-something MPG fatwa. They are compact-sized hybrids like the Toyota Prius Prime and Hyundai Ioniq – both of which just barely “achieve compliance” (they average 54 MPG).

Put another way: Every single non-hybrid car – and all trucks, SUVs and crossovers – currently on the market does not “achieve compliance” with the doubled-down fatwa hurled by the Orange Man’s extremely un-Libertarian predecessor.

Had OM not rescinded the near-tripling of fines to be imposed for failure to “achieve compliance” with the doubled-down MPG fatwa, it would have meant either a massive increase in the cost to buy every non-compliant model still around a couple of years from now amounting to at least several hundred dollars per vehicle and as much as several thousand dollars per vehicle – in the case of vehicles like trucks and SUVs which cannot “achieve compliance” with a 50-something MPG mandatory minimum unless the laws of thermodynamics can be rescinded . . .

Or the wholesale cancellation of every single non-hybrid car currently on the market – because with hundreds or thousands of dollars in fines added to their sticker price, they would simply be too expensive for most people to afford.

Which is exactly what was intended by the first fatwa.

The un-Libertarians in Washington cannot stand it that the hoi polloi – that’s you and I – decline to buy tiny, underpowered cars like the Prius and its ilk and instead choose to buy larger, stronger vehicles that suit our preferences.

It is not enough for these un-Libertarians that “efficient” cars like the Prius and other small, underpowered hybrids are available – for those who prefer them.

They insist we prefer them, too. And if we don’t we are to be persuaded – via punishment applied to the car makers, who in turn punish us with higher cost and fewer choices.

But the Orange Man has just thrown a sabot in their machinery – and that was a very Libertarian thing. He has taken away the billy stick which would have given the other fatwa its skull-crushing power.

Even if he doesn’t succeed in rescinding the 50-something MPG fatwa, he has already managed to emasculate it.

The un-Libertarians can decree that new cars must average 50-something MPG. But without the tripling of fines for those that don’t “achieve compliance,” it will still be feasible for the car industry to continue building such cars.

Which means they will still be available for us to buy – at prices we can still afford.

Elections matter.

The next one may matter most of all.

[Anti Federalist]

eric

July 14, 2019 at 3:37 pm

Hi Mark,

This is simply not true. Correct me if I am wrong, but:

Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Trump has openly “denied” the Climate Change Religion.
Trump has openly criticized Open Borders.
He rescinded the ObamaCare “shared responsibility” fine.
He hasn’t appointed leftists to the Supreme Court.

None of these would have happened had she won.

And now he has rescinded a fatwa that would have massively increased the cost of new cars and accelerated the bum’s rush to electric cars.

He’s just one man – and he’s done more to undermine/puncture some of the worst orthodoxies that have enabled some of the most loathsome tyrannies than any other president since Taft or Coolidge.

I support Orange Man.

Give him four more years!

[TER]

I say, looking at his Democratic opponents and the direction the Left is going, and their incessant obstructionist ways, change it all to a constitutional monarchy and make him king.

[TheTexan]

Elections Do Matter

+rep :up:

[Swordsmyth]

Far more than a dime's worth of difference.

[heavenlyboy34]

I'm still voting for the boot! VERMIN SUPREME 2020!!! :D :cool:

[euphemia]

Trump has been a pleasant surprise. I don’t see that anyone on the Republican side challenging him at all. If he has failures it would largely be due to his inexperience in Washington. I don’t think he understood just how bad things were. But he is a man who seems to be able to keep a lot of plates spinning. I guess we will see what happens next.

[Swordsmyth]

I say, looking at his Democratic opponents and the direction the Left is going, and their incessant obstructionist ways, change it all to a constitutional monarchy and make him king.
I would insist on a method for removing him at any time, The Electors could stay in office between elections to keep him following his campaign promises.

But our current system allows the deepstate to entrench itself and it allows everyone to point their fingers at someone else and blame them for everything.

[TheTexan]

I'm still voting

:up:

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to heavenlyboy34 again.

[TER]

I would insist on a method for removing him at any time, The Electors could stay in office between elections to keep him following his campaign promises.

But our current system allows the deepstate to entrench itself and it allows everyone to point their fingers at someone else and blame them for everything.

The system we have now assumes an educated, involved, and well informed citizenry (electorate) in order to work. If the education level, the morality, and the means to obtain truthful information is destroyed, than the system we have here crumbles and becomes a corrupt oligarchy ruling over a debased society, which though changes hands every few years, allows those on the shadows to wield inordinate amounts of power to enslave the masses.

[phill4paul]

I say, looking at his Democratic opponents and the direction the Left is going, and their incessant obstructionist ways, change it all to a constitutional monarchy and make him king.

The founders considered this after winning the War of Independence. They approached Prince Henry of Prussia for this exact purpose. I seem to recall it was Monroe that did this. He vacillated and the Continental Congress decided on an elected president. It was a good thing he did. He was a bi-sexual deviant of the highest order. All this shit with LBGTQ weirdo sexual shit would have hit us from the start.

[Swordsmyth]

The system we have now assumes an educated, involved, and well informed citizenry (electorate) in order to work. If the education level, the morality, and the means to obtain truthful information is destroyed, than the system we have here crumbles and becomes a corrupt oligarchy ruling over a debased society, which though changes hands every few years, allows those on the shadows to wield inordinate amounts of power to enslave the masses.
It also makes reform nearly impossible because of the checks and balances but the corruption never seems to be stopped by them.
And it requires HUNDREDS of honest representatives which are very hard to find while the deepstate has an unlimited bench of stooges.

[euphemia]

We are still voting. We have a lot of local concerns and voting is the only thing we can do.

[TER]

The founders considered this after winning the War of Independence. They approached Prince Henry of Prussia for this exact purpose. I seem to recall it was Monroe that did this. He vacillated and the Continental Congress decided on an elected president. It was a good thing he did. He was a bi-sexual deviant of the highest order. All this shit with LBGTQ weirdo sexual shit would have hit us from the start.

Maybe. But we just had Obama!

But i would suggest a constitutional monarchy where we would still require an elected monarch to rule for life or until they retire/rescind and then a successor chosen through voting. I am not suggesting one chosen merely through heredity.

If the king gets out of line, there can be a no conflidence vote.

[Swordsmyth]

The founders considered this after winning the War of Independence. They approached Prince Henry of Prussia for this exact purpose. I seem to recall it was Monroe that did this. He vacillated and the Continental Congress decided on an elected president. It was a good thing he did. He was a bi-sexual deviant of the highest order. All this $#@! with LBGTQ weirdo sexual $#@! would have hit us from the start.
That's why a compromise between the two systems would be best.
Europeans had elective monarchies but the election was for life, we need a "Steward" that can be removed with only a few powers reserved for a much smaller parliament. (Like declaring war)

[Swordsmyth]

Maybe. But we just had Obama!

But i would suggest a constitutional monarchy where we would still require an elected monarch to rule for life or until they retire/rescind and then a successor chosen thro8gh voting. I am not suggesting one chosen merely through heredity.
I have major problems with any lifetime non-removable monarch, he would not be responsible to the people.

[TER]

That's why a compromise between the two systems would be best.
Europeans had elective monarchies but the election was for life, we need a "Steward" that can be removed with only a few powers reserved for a much smaller parliament. (Like declaring war)

Right. Some kind of middle ground.

[TER]

I have major problems with any lifetime non-removable monarch, he would not be responsible to the people.


He could be removed. He simply doesn’t need to campaign every four years.

[Swordsmyth]

He could be removed. He simply doesn’t need to campaign every four years.
Would he be subject to recall instead of regular elections?
Would Congress or the people be able to launch the recall? Or both?

[TheTexan]

We are still voting. We have a lot of local concerns and voting is the only thing we can do.

+rep votes are powerful tools. I think it was gandhi that said, "vote for the change that you want to see in the world"

[TER]

Would he be subject to recall instead of regular elections?
Would Congress or the people be able to launch the recall? Or both?

Not sure! I’m trying to figure it out myself! Lol

What do you think would work best?

[phill4paul]

Maybe. But we just had Obama!

But i would suggest a constitutional monarchy where we would still require an elected monarch to rule for life or until they retire/rescind and then a successor chosen through voting. I am not suggesting one chosen merely through heredity.

If the king gets out of line, there can be a no conflidence vote.


That's why a compromise between the two systems would be best.
Europeans had elective monarchies but the election was for life, we need a "Steward" that can be removed with only a few powers reserved for a much smaller parliament. (Like declaring war)

WTF? How many Rev3.0 sock puppet are there here?

[Swordsmyth]

WTF? How many Rev3.0 sock puppet are there here?
R3v wants a hereditary lifetime monarch, what I want is more like what Erdogan calls an "Executive President", someone who can get rid of corruption as easily as the swamp causes it and who is entirely responsible for what happens and can be removed for it.

[TER]

WTF? How many Rev3.0 sock puppet are there here?

I’m not a sock puppet. I don’t want a hereditary monarchy. I’m just trying to think of ways which could improve our government structure. We have a good one, no doubt, groundbreaking for sure, but to think it is perfect would be naive. Not saying you do, but some people think that way.

[Swordsmyth]

Not sure! I’m trying to figure it out myself! Lol

What do you think would work best?
I think the Electoral College should remain in office and vote to remove the Steward by dissolving itself and holding new EC elections, then the people would get the final say in whether or not to remove the Steward.

[TER]

I think the Electoral College should remain in office and vote to remove the Steward by dissolving itself and holding new EC elections, then the people would get the final say in whether or not to remove the Steward.

That sound good. You have presumably involved, educated and trusted citizens making the case and then the people voting on it.

This election cycle for president which revs up every 2 years is not ideal.

[TheTexan]

I think the Electoral College should remain in office and vote to remove the Steward by dissolving itself and holding new EC elections, then the people would get the final say in whether or not to remove the Steward.

So basically there would be elections to determine if there needs to be an election.

I like it :up:

[Swordsmyth]

So basically there would be elections to determine if there needs to be an election.

I like it :up:
I knew you would.

[TER]

So basically there would be elections to determine if there needs to be an election.

I like it :up:

But first there would need to be a vote :p

[Swordsmyth]

That sound good. You have presumably involved, educated and trusted citizens making the case and then the people voting on it.

This election cycle for president which revs up every 2 years is not ideal.
The EC should probably have regular elections every so often to keep them honest but it should be more like every 6-10 years unless they are recalled by their state's voters. (or just wait for a recall)

[TER]

The EC should probably have regular elections every so often to keep them honest but it should be more like every 6-10 years unless they are recalled by their state's voters. (or just wait for a recall)

Should they be under term limits?

[Swordsmyth]

Should they be under term limits?
No, I don't believe in term limits, the swamp has a much easier time finding new people than we do.

I'm creating a new thread for this discussion so we don't hijack AF's thread, I'll mention you there.

[Anti Federalist]

Not sure! I’m trying to figure it out myself! Lol

What do you think would work best?

The Articles of Confederation, where the central government would be so weak, that there would be no need for federal king, like the Anti Feds warned about.

Outside of collective defense, leave everything else to the states.

[Swordsmyth]

The Articles of Confederation, where the central government would be so weak, that there would be no need for federal king, like the Anti Feds warned about.

Outside of collective defense, leave everything else to the states.
I think something in between the AoC and the Constitution would be best, I think the AoC was made too weak on purpose in order to set up the push for the Constitution.
We also needed the BoR and it always should have applied to the states.

If you want to discuss the alternate form of government either for the weakened Federal government or for the individual states I have started a thread for it:

A new system of government (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?536723-A-new-system-of-government)

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

I'm of two minds. On the one hand, as bad as the GOP are, they are nothing compared to the Democrats. On the other hand, mid 20th Century, Buckleyite, National Review-style conservatism needs to die, and the GOP might need to be sacrificed in order for that to happen.

[Anti Globalist]

+rep votes are powerful tools. I think it was gandhi that said, "vote for the change that you want to see in the world"
Actually the quote was, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

The word vote for never mentioned.

[brushfire]

He’s just one man – and he’s done more to undermine/puncture some of the worst orthodoxies that have enabled some of the most loathsome tyrannies than any other president since Taft or Coolidge.

I support Orange Man.

Give him four more years!

Four more years, like the prior 4? Then what?

[PAF]

Four more years, like the prior 4? Then what?

Another Omnibus?

Another "emergency" spending bill?

A toast, once ratified, to the USMCA that he signed at the signing ceremony?

More protectionism, infrastructure and MIC contracts with TSA, DHS, et al....?

Lawsuits, taking private property and contract rights away from hard working people and businesses?

An even BIGGER national debt?

Tweets and bones to keep them coming for more?

:seenoevil:


http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?536737-Conservatives-Against-Liberty

[TheTexan]

Actually the quote was, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

The word vote for never mentioned.

You have your facts wrong. I can see why you think that, but the original quote was about voting. 99% sure.

[brushfire]

Another Omnibus?

Another "emergency" spending bill?

A toast, once ratified, to the USMCA that he signed at the signing ceremony?

More protectionism, infrastructure and MIC contracts with TSA, DHS, et al....?

Lawsuits, taking private property and contract rights away from hard working people and businesses?

An even BIGGER national debt?

Tweets and bones to keep them coming for more?

:seenoevil:


http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?536737-Conservatives-Against-Liberty


Any token changes made by the prior administration will be countered by new ones. Any power grabs made by the prior administration will be exploited by the next through political manipulation by the established shell government.

Meanwhile, the pursuit of lesser evils will continue, by the willfully ignorant electorate. Partisan bases will be energized through WWE/WWF political theater, and we'll continue the two party punch and judy routine - changing the roles now and then to keep people (and the msm) engaged. Casual voters will vote for their perceived king, and then go back to complaining for the next 4 years, about how the other party is stopping them, from MAGA or Hope and Change, while their local and state governments a$$rape them blind.

The redeeming promise being that only an electable politician will be elected. 'Cause only electable politicians ever win. Gotta go check the polls, be right back.

[Todd]

I'm still voting for the boot! VERMIN SUPREME 2020!!! :D :cool:

Yep. I still don't have a Pony so Trump is a fail.

[Anti Federalist]

Four more years, like the prior 4? Then what?

Who knows?

A leftist so bad that maybe "our" side starts pushing back with the vigor and intensity our enemies are right now?

Blessed dissolution and separation?


Partisan bases will be energized through WWE/WWF political theater

That is the point Eric is trying to make: rolling back the CAFE standards is not "theater".

It's a very real step in the right direction. One that, if not taken, would have spelled the end of ICE vehicles by 2025.

[Swordsmyth]

I'm of two minds. On the one hand, as bad as the GOP are, they are nothing compared to the Democrats. On the other hand, mid 20th Century, Buckleyite, National Review-style conservatism needs to die, and the GOP might need to be sacrificed in order for that to happen.
I'm all for the death of both parties but we need to prioritize the one that has gone full commietard.

[Anti Federalist]

///

[Contumacious]

Elections Do Matter

https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2019/07/14/elections-do-matter/

By eric - July 14, 2019

Donald Trump isn’t a Libertarian – but he is the guy who just rescinded the fatwa imposed by his extremely un-Libertarian predecessor that would have almost tripled the fines imposed on car companies that didn’t “achieve compliance” with federal fuel economy mandatory minimums.

This is no small thing – because of the other fatwa, still in place. The one which decrees a near-doubling of the average mileage new cars will be required to achieve over the course of the next six years.

Orange Man is working on that one.

Regardless, he just saved you a lot of money – and may just have saved the car industry, too.

At least, for the moment.

The fines rescinded were the billy stick used to enforce federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regs. These regs stipulate an arbitrary “fleet average” mileage number every car company’s model lineup must meet.

This arbitrarily decreed number – arbitrary because it’s just “decided” upon by federal bureaucrats, at their whim, based upon what they – in their infinite wisdom – consider to be “achievable,” no matter what it costs – has been steadily rising since the late ‘70s, from around 22 miles-per-gallon to the current 30-something miles-per-gallon.

Over the past 30-something years, cars have become more “efficient” as a result of this gradual ratcheting-up of CAFE requirements. They have also become progressively more expensive with each ratcheting up – since it takes technology to “achieve compliance” while also maintaining the attributes car buyers expect, such as the physical size of the vehicle as well as its power/performance/capability.

It is hard to get a car to average 30-something MPG while also being not small and able to get to 60 MPH in less than 8 seconds (most buyers won’t buy a car that can’t do this).

Or carry a family – as opposed to a single driver and perhaps one passenger. And have the power to pull a trailer.

Etc.

People do value gas mileage. Just not gas mileage uber alles – as the un-Libertarians in government insists they do.

If they did value it uber alles, the car companies would not need to be forced – by punishing fines – to build such cars. They would respond to . . . the market for such cars.

The problem – from the point-of-view of the un-Libertarians in government – is that there is a market for other cars. Which the government is trying to stifle, via fines that punish the market for daring to express preferences which differ from the demands of the un-Libertarians in government.

The fines are currently set at $5.50 for every 0.1 MPG below the current arbitrarily-decreed “fleet average” of 30-something MPG.

They were about to almost tripled to $14 for the same “crime” – i.e., manufacturing cars that met the requirements of car buyers rather than “achieved compliance” with government gas mileage fatwas.

This is as un-Libertarian as it gets.

It’s also the billy stick that would have given the other fatwa – the near-doubling of the arbitrarily decreed mandatory minimum “fleet average” from 30-something to 50-something MPG that Orange Man is still trying to rescind – skull-crushing power.

To understand why one must first know that there are only two cars on the market that “achieve compliance” with the doubled-down 50-something MPG fatwa. They are compact-sized hybrids like the Toyota Prius Prime and Hyundai Ioniq – both of which just barely “achieve compliance” (they average 54 MPG).

Put another way: Every single non-hybrid car – and all trucks, SUVs and crossovers – currently on the market does not “achieve compliance” with the doubled-down fatwa hurled by the Orange Man’s extremely un-Libertarian predecessor.

Had OM not rescinded the near-tripling of fines to be imposed for failure to “achieve compliance” with the doubled-down MPG fatwa, it would have meant either a massive increase in the cost to buy every non-compliant model still around a couple of years from now amounting to at least several hundred dollars per vehicle and as much as several thousand dollars per vehicle – in the case of vehicles like trucks and SUVs which cannot “achieve compliance” with a 50-something MPG mandatory minimum unless the laws of thermodynamics can be rescinded . . .

Or the wholesale cancellation of every single non-hybrid car currently on the market – because with hundreds or thousands of dollars in fines added to their sticker price, they would simply be too expensive for most people to afford.

Which is exactly what was intended by the first fatwa.

The un-Libertarians in Washington cannot stand it that the hoi polloi – that’s you and I – decline to buy tiny, underpowered cars like the Prius and its ilk and instead choose to buy larger, stronger vehicles that suit our preferences.

It is not enough for these un-Libertarians that “efficient” cars like the Prius and other small, underpowered hybrids are available – for those who prefer them.

They insist we prefer them, too. And if we don’t we are to be persuaded – via punishment applied to the car makers, who in turn punish us with higher cost and fewer choices.

But the Orange Man has just thrown a sabot in their machinery – and that was a very Libertarian thing. He has taken away the billy stick which would have given the other fatwa its skull-crushing power.

Even if he doesn’t succeed in rescinding the 50-something MPG fatwa, he has already managed to emasculate it.

The un-Libertarians can decree that new cars must average 50-something MPG. But without the tripling of fines for those that don’t “achieve compliance,” it will still be feasible for the car industry to continue building such cars.

Which means they will still be available for us to buy – at prices we can still afford.

Elections matter.

The next one may matter most of all.

🙏👌👍

[Anti Globalist]

Well we're certainly in a situation where an election does matter. If Biden gets to be president, he'll erase all the good/decent things Trump did.

[nobody's_hero]

Well we're certainly in a situation where an election does matter. If Biden gets to be president, he'll erase all the good/decent things Trump did.

I reckon we'll be rejoining the World Worthless Health Organization on day one.

[Contumacious]

Well we're certainly in a situation where an election does matter. If Biden gets to be president, he'll erase all the good/decent things Trump did.

:pray::up::aok::clap: