Are Electric Cars the Wheels of the Future?
By: U.S. Senator John Barrasso
Nov. 4, 2019
To the Editor:
Re “A Bold Plan for Zero-Emission Cars,” by Chuck Schumer (Op-Ed, Oct. 25):
If we needed proof of how extreme the Democratic Party has become, just look at Senator Schumer’s article about electric vehicles.
He wants to get every gas-powered car off the road and to resurrect President Barack Obama’s disastrous “cash for clunkers” program.
That program wasted $3 billion of taxpayer money giving subsidies to people who bought newer vehicles. Even environmentalists admitted that it had “slim if any environmental benefits.”
Mr. Schumer’s “new” plan is 100 times more expensive. He wants to spend $392 billion of taxpayer money to subsidize cars only wealthy Americans can afford.
The median price for electric vehicles is roughly $20,000 more than the median price of gas-powered cars.
Sold as stimulus, the first program was actually a drag on the economy. While the effect on taxpayers was significant, the effect on the air was minimal.
Mr. Schumer’s plan doubles down on failure.
John Barrasso
Washington
The writer, a Wyoming Republican, is chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
