The New York Times hits us with this dumbfounding newsflash:

Electric Cars Too Costly for Many, Even With Aid in Climate Bill

Who could have seen that?

Yes, as technology advances and becomes more popular among the rich, it’ll get cheaper so the well-off can get it, then the comfortable, then the middle class, then the poor. That’s how it happened with computers and televisions and microwaves and such. But the problem with cars is that various governments are mandating that by such-and-such date, this new, expensive technology will be *mandatory.* Never mind whether the price has dropped enough for it to be affordable.

Bonus article:

Most electric vehicles won’t qualify for federal tax credit

The Feds are offering a tax credit of up to $7500. Great. But for a car to qualify, the battery must be Made In America. Also great. Problem: there really aren’t any, because the US allowed the Chinese to yoink all the tech and the manufacturing.

I’m a libertarian, but I’m also something of a nationalist. The US government should be doing things that support US-based businesses rather than funding foreign communists. But in order for a tax credit for a car to be meaningful, that kind of car has to actually *exist.* So maybe rather than demanding a conversion to EV’s, the US government should do like the NACA used to do, and hunker down on the research required to make it happen *and* pass regulations that support US manufacturing… *then* and only then, when electric cars are not only US-made but US-affordable and US-practical (they have a range of 300+ miles and can charge in under 10 minutes, say, while carrying a family of five and a full load of groceries and a couple days worth of range supplies)… *Then* start suggesting that people transition.