It seems the only people worried about the cost of things are those who can’t force other people to pay for them.
This is the only explanation for the otherwise bizarre insouciance accompanying each almost weekly “reveal” of the latest electric vehicle – such as the $67,500 to start Rivian R1T electric truck.
But it’s not just electric trucks – or electric cars – that are unmoored from economic reality.
It is cars and trucks, generally. Their prices are booming – the average transaction price of a 2021 model year is close to an unprecedented $35,000 – even as the economy is collapsing.
It’s a strange juxtaposition.
Until you understand the non-market forces at work.
There is, of course, the price-padding effect of compliance costs – what you pay for all of the things directly mandated by the government, such as air bags and back-up cameras and tire pressure monitoring systems – as well as those things not specifically decreed, such as direct injection, partially electric drivetrains, small engines with heavy boost (turbos) but which are necessary to meet the emissions and fuel efficiency standards laid down by the government.
These have added thousands of dollars to the cost of every new car.
New cars would, in fact, be generally unaffordable on this account alone were it not for the compensatory effect of economies of scale, manufacturing efficiencies and the reduced cost of materials (e.g., the widespread use of cheap painted plastic for most of the front and rear ends of almost all new cars in lieu of metal and chrome).
We can get a sense of what new cars and trucks would cost, absent all of the baked-in costs of the mandates and the need to “comply” with all of the government ukase by comparing the costs of cars made here with the cost of cars made elsewhere – in countries that have governments that are less involved in designing cars. This includes even China, where it is possible to buy compact pick-ups such as the Wuling Zhengtu – which is made by a subsidiary of General Motors, by the way – for just over $9k.
Which is about a third of the cost of the lowest-cost pick-up available for sale in the U.S.
But there is another factor at work.
The same government that mandates and regulates also pays very well. The average federal government employee in the Washington, DC area takes in (literally – government workers do not earn anything) more than $122,000 annually. Many government workers in Northern Virginia take in considerably more.
The average American worker earns about half as much. Out of which he is forced to pay the taxes that go into the pockets of the government worker. Who is then able to buy a $67,000 electric pickup the person who actually paid for it cannot afford to pay, himself.
It’s not just in in DC (and Northern Virginia, where every other person is on the government payroll in one form or another) government people, either.
Government pays very well, everywhere. This includes government school “teachers” (in air fingers quotes for reasons that ought to be obvious, to the educated) and armed government workers – who enforce what the government decrees upon those forced to pay for it. Including, as recently, when most of the people who pay for the government were declared “non-essential” by the government, which continued to force them to pay the taxes that keep “essential” government employees’ pockets full.
These government people enjoy both much higher incomes than most people who work for a living as well as job security unheard of in the working world, where one must produce something people are willing to pay for in order to get paid.
Government simply gets paid – as much as it likes.
There are roughly 9 million people directly employed by the federal government. When you add in those employed by state government that swells to some 30 million. That is a lot of people taking in a lot of money, creating a lot of market distorting purchasing power. It is these people who are creating artificial demand for cars the rest of us cannot afford. It is the same non-market force driving people who work out of the housing market in – not uncoincidentally – please like the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC- where a townhouse an hour’s drive away from the Heart of Darkness costs on average more than a quarter-million dollars.
The average cost of a single family home a little closer in – located in Loudon County, VA – is $600,000.
Few who aren’t on the government payroll can afford that.
Just as few who aren’t on the government payroll can afford a $67,000 Rivian – or for that matter, a $35,000 Camry.
But the prices continue to rise, even as the purchasing power of the average American wanes. Because when you have unlimited access to the pockets of the average American, you can afford all the very latest stuff.
Meanwhile, the average American finds himself increasingly priced out of the market – since he must pay full freight for all the latest stuff, much of which he would probably prefer to do without but which is becoming standard equipment, because those people want it – and don’t have to care much about what it costs.
Since they can make you pay for it.
. . .
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The cost of new cars is also driving up the price of used cars. Stafford County is taking full advantage of that price increase. The semi-annual car tax on my 2016 Tacoma went up $100 from last year. If they don’t increase it again before the second installment, that will be an extra $200 annually turned over to the county, essentially to rent from them the truck that I paid for. The county’s explanation is that it is worth more this year, so they feel justified in increasing the tax on it.
Oh, did I mention that I am monumentally pissed?
“Government simply gets paid – as much as it likes.”
That’s it in a nutshell – all the intermediary, non-productive jobs for the technocrats and their ilk spawn ever-increasing numbers of gov-dependent compliers who can be relied upon to maintain and grow the beast.
Thus Black’s Third Rule: Government grows until it destroys the civilization it is built on.
Most of us have seen September’s job report that came out at 8:30 this morning.
It was pretty dismal, especially since ADP anticipated 500K + jobs. There are a few things that I find interesting in the report when we dig into the numbers:
1. The teaching sector had a loss of 144K educators for the month. That’s interesting because September is when most kids return back to school. This huge drop could signify a few things: 1) teachers are fearful of returning to school because of “COVID” and have decided to retire/resign; 2) teachers are tired of the push toward CRT and the over dominance of the local boards and have chosen to retire/resign; or 3) parents are pulling their children out of the public education system in droves and these teachers are no longer needed.
Any of the above scenarios isn’t good for the Department of Education or the teacher unions, but it may benefit the rest of us.
Also, the decrease in jobs for health care facilities and hospitals (HCF – a drop of 38K and hospitals a drop of 8K). Both of these can be summed up to sheer exhaustion and/or the beginning of the vaccines mandates. Many of these were doctors/nurses/staff that refused to take the vax and decided to walk, some of these could be the start of the firings from hospitals and nursing homes for those who refuse to get the shot. I expect the October numbers for this industry to be even worse.
This country is cutting off its noise to spite its face. That the uber left is so stupid not to see this (or maybe that is the plan) will put our country in a free fall, that we will not return from. I am not against this country taking a new course (as long as it is the opposite course to which we are heading), but the fall is going to be hard and most are not seeing it.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/10/08/another-disaster-joe-bidens-economy-adds-meager-194000-jobs-in-september/
Regarding teachers, the uber left, and the gene therapies as a political cudgel, anyone who still has kids in a gov’t school, especially those living in NJ, should read the following:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/teachers-alarmed-training-log-vaccine-conversations-parents-students
Particularly galling is the following: One slide, entitled “Help Them Find Their Own Reason,” encourages educators to do just that, telling them to not “tell them what to do or think” but also help their “friends and family find their own reason to get vaccinated.” Reminds me of the gesundheitfurhrer here in NC telling people to wear a diaper “whatever your reason.” It’s got to be some kind of fake Jedi mind trick leftist script.
I can’t help, but believe that the smartest thing I ever done was keep my kids out of the public school system. Teachers are now the new Gestapo. All of this stuff has got to be inputted into a government computer system somewhere. I have no doubt that they have profiles on us all. The scary part is being recorded or watched and not knowing that it is happening. I suppose the point is for all of us to distrust everyone else not knowing if they are friend or foe.
It is a sad world that we live in.
Amen, RG –
My sister in CA will shortly face the choice – submit her daughter (my niece) to the Jab or take her out of the government school…
Hi Eric,
Hopefully, she makes the right choice. I believe your niece is a teenager. If that is the case they are usually the easiest to teach and can take directions pretty well. Hopefully, your sister will be able to find a good private school that will allow your niece to thrive in a mask free, jab free environment.
Also, homeschooling does offer many private classes that are part of private school curriculums and/or taught by a bevy of retired/former school teachers. My kiddos attended a homeschool program through a local church for a few years learning literature, science, math, and writing. There is a cost (a couple hundred per student per class for the semester), but it is well worth. The only reason that I stopped was because of COVID and all of the ridiculous precautions that I knew were going to take place (mask and/or Zoom).
But wait, there’s MORE!
Let’s not forget that when GovCo employees are challenged about the tax burden they create they respond with, “We pay taxes, too.”
This is utter BS.
They are Tax CONSUMERS not payers. “Consumers” totally and completely. This hit me in the face back in the 90’s when I was really active in local politics. A libertarian leaning county commissioner asked me to look over the county budget and see what might be slashed. I wanted to say, “All of it” but, I took her seriously and went through the 3″ thick computer printout line by line.
It listed each expenditure and how much tax money needed to be allocated for each item. One item buried deep in the pile of figures were a couple lines pertaining to State and Federal Taxes. This was part of the payroll breakdown. In other words, how much money needed to be taxed from producers to pay the state and federal taxes of the GovCo employees. Let that sink in.
GovCo taxes us so they can “pay” taxes. It’s an accounting dog chasing its own tail.
And we’re paying for it ALL.
Here’s an idea that will go nowhere. Limit GovCo employment to 10 years TOTAL. Federal, state and local combined, 10 years and you’re gone. Give people one year’s pay as a severance, that’s it.
I’ve suggested this many times and the universal response is, “Well, no one would want to work for GovCo in that case” AHH HAAA!!! Now you get it. These parasites are always mouthing that they are “public servants” “giving back to the community” in their “service” jobs. Bull. It’s greed, pure and simple. If not, why are you hogging it for 30 years, let someone else have the opportunity to “give back” you greedy bastards.
BTW, Let’s Go Brandon!!!
Want to get really annoyed?
Let’s pretend that we believe government derives its powers from the people.
Every time you read or hear “the government mandates/decides/legislates etc”, replace it with “your neighbor”.
That should start making you angry that the government, which claims powers bequeathed to them by you and your neighbors, does things to you that your neighbor never legitimately could.
So who gave them that power? It wasn’t us.
That was insightful and excellent, Dan – thank you!
Indeed. “Government” is just other people – like your neighbor. Ordering you about and taking your stuff.
Makers vs Takers. Keeps getting worse too.
And the public unions are lying and pushing propaganda to their constituents.
Used to go golfing with our local Chief of Police. Was a decent guy that we had a lot in common until there was a big rukus in the local news about our Governor wanting to fix the public union pension system, underwater by 1B+/-. (it was never fixed BTW, only made it way worse for the taxpayer).
He said “We chose public jobs and make less now for more (beni’s) later. You private guys make a lot more now for less later” I’m not kidding.
I researched and found similar facts as yours Eric, and when I said “Hey Chief, all of your cops and you make way way way more than the average in this town, so your Union is lying to you. More like you guys are in the top 10-20% already.”
Our friendship did not last much longer. And he continued to voice his opinion loudly at any and all public events. And guess what? They almost always win in the end and have been for a long time.
As most of us know already here, that these issues are non-sustainable.
Don’t forget gov’t contractors, often of the military-industrial complex, whose employees make 2-3x what their non-MIC counterparts make.
Inflation is the purpose of fiat currency. There is no other reason to use it. The purpose of the inflation is to extract wealth from the 99.9% for the benefit of the 0.1%. Fiat currency always fails. ALWAYS! Unfortunately, the victim suffers right along with the perpetrators, if not more so. The failure is eminent. Which might explain why the US Sociopaths In Charge appear to be hell bent on a nuclear war. “So long, and thanks for all the fish”.
Yes, I just recently read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy again.
Heartwarming news west of the Potomac:
‘Virginia gubernatorial Democrat candidate Terry McAuliffe cast President Joe Biden and his party’s lawmakers in Congress as a liability in the final weeks of the campaign, with polls showing a tightening race.
“We are facing a lot of headwinds from Washington,” McAuliffe, a former head of the Democratic National Committee, said during a virtual rally with supporters Tuesday.
“As you know, the president is unpopular today, unfortunately, here in Virginia, so we’ve got to plow through.” — Bloomberg
FJB. FTM. Efamol 2L.
Is Biden not popular in Virginia? I haven’t noticed that. There may be a few that have regretted their pick last November, but gut tells me Virginia is now a solidly blue state although secretly I keep hoping a miracle will occur.
I don’t find Youngkin to be a better candidate just one from the opposing side and if elected, would curtail any potential legislation from the Democratic Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate. We know nothing will be fixed, but I will settle for nothing being screwed up further.
On a good note I did see my first “F Joe Biden and the People That Voted For Him” flag flying high today. That did bring a small smile to my face.
RG,
It’s hard to tell VA’s status, simply because the VA GOP BLEW OFF like 38 statehouse races last time! For the House of Delegates, the GOP didn’t run candidates in 29 of the races; for the VA Senate, they blew off 9 races. Meanwhile, the Dems ran candidates in all races. As the old lottery commercial says, you have to be IN it to win it…
The Dems control the VA House 55-45, while they hold a slim 21-19 majority in the VA Senate. Now, if just 25% of those uncontested races were won, then guess what? The commies DON’T CONTROL Richmond! Since much of VA is rural and more conservative, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the GOP could’ve easily won 25% of the races they blew off, and picked up enough seats to control one or both houses of the VA legislature. If they’d controlled even one house of the VA legislature, then much of Gov. Coonman’s agenda gets stopped dead in its tracks.
As for the governor’s race down there, the GOP gave the last two races to the Dems. In 2013, they undercut solid conservative candidate Ken Cuccinelli; they pulled all financing and logistic support from his campaign. In 2017, they ran squish RINO, Ed Gillespie; he’s cast in the mold of Mitt Romney.
SO! From the eyes of this distant observer, it looks like the GOP doesn’t WANT to win down there; it looks like they want to LET the Dems win! What other conclusion can I come to when they blow off 39 of the 140 races for the state legislature? What other conclusion can I draw when the GOP undercuts a good gubernatorial candidate in 2013, while running a total, squish RINO in 2017? I don’t know about the races themselves; I didn’t study things that far in depth. Nevertheless, it’s a truism that, if you’re not in the race, you definitely won’t win. Again, you gotta be in it to win it.
This isn’t just happening in VA; it’s happening in GA & KY too. The GOP in those states is failing to run candidates in many of the races, making the margin of control narrower than it has to be. There used to be a site detailing all this, but it doesn’t appear to be working. Again, the GOP appears to be throwing races in GA, KY, and VA.
Folks,
Here’s an interview that David Knight conducted with Vince Agnelli detailing all this: https://www.pscp.tv/libertytarian/1gqxvogrPvaKB
Hi Mark,
I agree with you that the Republican Party is putting very little effort into the Commonwealth, but there is no doubt that the state is now blue. The regions of Tidewater, Albemarle County (around Charlottesville), Richmond and NOVA counties made up of Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William leave the rest of the state at a disadvantage. Yes, most of the counties in the state vote conservative, but we don’t come close to the numbers based on the most populated areas.
There are 95 counties in Virginia with a population of 8.6 million. Adding up the locations above puts 1/2 of VA’s residents in seven counties.
Will the newspapers hype up a close election? Of course, the Republicans may even dream they have a shot and funnel a little money into the state, but we all know how this goes down. Youngkin will take the lead at the beginning, he will look like he is going to win with 53-54% of the vote and then around 11 PM Fairfax County’s votes will funnel in and bam, the election and Virginia’s new governor will be Terrible Terry…..again.
Fairfax County sent a notice today to Northam requesting that absentee ballots have the witness signature waived due to “COVID”. If one can go to work and the grocery store, personally one should be able to vote in person. We will see what Northam does, but I am not holding my breath.
I no longer consider Virginia a southern state. It just happens to be south of the Mason Dixon line, but it shares the same attributes as Delaware, Massachusetts, and New York. Personally, I think the Mason Dixon line needs to be redrawn in between North and South Carolina. It would be much more representative for the country as a whole.
RG,
I think things would be different if the GOP at least CONTESTED all the races down there! Things would be different if they ran stronger candidates than Youngkin; you can’t keep running RINOs while undercutting good candidates, and still expect to win.
I know what you’re saying about the Dem counties. We have a similar situation in PA; Philly and Pittsburgh skew things to the point we speak of “Phillysburgh” up here! However, the GOP controls both houses of our state legislature. While they’re more RINO than conservative, they’ve provided a check on Gov. Tom Wolf. Wolf can’t let his inner dictator get too out of control, or else he’ll be reined in. That’s why we’re not like NY.
We also have a similar situation WRT governor up here. We had a GOP governor, but: 1) he was a RINO; 2) he was unlikeable; and 3) signed a gas tax increase less than a year before his election. Combine that with the fact that Wolf campaigned as a businessman and moderate, Corbett was toast.
Anyway, with a divided gov’t, things are in a sort of stalemate here, which is good for us. The legislature even passed a “no vax pass” bill, but it only forbade passes in schools and gov’t buildings; there was no prohibition on what private organizations and businesses could do. Wolf vetoed it, not because of its prohibitions, but because the bill also sought to limit Gov. Wolf’s emergency powers. Even so, if not for some masked faces here and there, one would think it’s 2019 again. A divided gov’t is good for the people, because wannabe tyrants are so busy fighting each other for power that they can’t be bothered taking our rights away.
SO! I still think that the GOP could’ve won down there in VA; they may not have won everything, but they’d have won enough to put the brakes on Gov. Coonman. Even though the urban and NOVA counties have half the population, the rural counties have the other half. It’s not unreasonable to think that the GOP could have won 25% of those uncontested races. Personally, I think that, had they run decent candidates in all of those races, then they could’ve won 30% or more of those races that they forfeited. You can’t blow off more than 27% of races and expect to win; it’s just that simple. It’s a matter of numbers.
Liberty can be a winning message. David Knight interviews a AZ sheriff, an unknown, who’d run on promising to not enforce masking and other dicktats; he won!
Again, VA’S HoD is 55-45 Dems, while the margin is 21-19 in the Senate. 25% of 28 is 7, which is more than enough to flip the House; meanwhile 25% of 9 is a little over 2, which flips the VA Senate. Guess what? You’d have had a divided government down there, and life would’ve been better for you guys! You’d have had a stalemate, same as we’ve had here. As one who lived through it, a divided gov’t is far preferable to the unified gov’t neighboring NY State has.
Unfortunately, the GOP is, I think, in league with the Dems-at least in VA. They and the Dems are two wings of the same, Uniparty bird. Neither party is really for liberty, but the Dems are worse. Anyway, I don’t think VA is as blue as some people think it is; it only looks that way because the GOP doesn’t put up a real fight.
Hi RG. Yeah, Youngkin is an uninspiring candidate. I can’t get excited about him as governor, but for once I am going to vote for someone just in the hope that he can keep the other guy out of office.
Hi Mike,
I think I am going to sit this one out. After the 2020 election I feel like we have become Eastern Europe….like in 2018, when Putin won 75% of the vote. I was a hardcore voter, even voted in primaries, but the whole thing has turned me off and made me bitter.
I do hope though that Youngkin hired a few software engineers away from Dominion Voting Systems. 😉
Hi RG. Ironically, I’m moving in the opposite direction. I have long eschewed voting because I viewed it as a means of supporting the system. So I have refused to vote for the lesser of two evils. Lately, I have begun to realize that Soros and his cronies used such views to their advantage. He didn’t need to cheat to have his ilk elected as DAs, school boards, election supervisors, etc. He used my belief that voting doesn’t matter.
In national and statewide elections, the cheating may render our votes to be of little if any difference. But we have to take back control on a local level if there is any hope of reclaiming our country.
Note especially the importance of your sheriff. If, like me, you live in a county without a police department, the sheriff is the ultimate enforcer of the law. I will be paying close attention to the next sheriff’s election and will oppose any candidate who doesn’t pledge to resist federal and state tyranny.
So, after many years of sitting on the sidelines, I am becoming a voter again.
Mike
I have given up on voting entirely after this monkey f**k circus that Trump presided over. You are right about the county sherifs though. A perfect example is my county.
In Az I believe we have more liberty than any of the other states. Let me count the ways. First for true constitutional carry. No helmet laws. No state laws against talking on your phone and driving. No state overreach on personal wells. And most recently the first true MJ decriminalization in the country.
I was listening to the county commission meeting where 2 of the 5 commissioners were agitating to put local restrictions over the state law. The two female sourpuss commissioners were haranguing the sherif about people having more than twelve plants. Complaining about the smell and the people who are just growing as many as they want.
The law states they may not be seen from the edge of the property. It also explicitly states the naked eye. No binoculars, optics, drones, helicopters, and satellites may be used as a basis for investigation.
The sniveling shrews were browbeating the sherif about muh federal law and why he wouldn’t take action. He said ‘I enforce the laws of the state of AZ and Yavapai county,’ not the federal Government. Never been so proud of an elected official, ever.
He went on to tell the harpies his response would be bringing out the code enforcement officer and if there was a violation of the law. there would be a thirty day notice to comply followed by the hundred dollar fine proscribed as written into the law.
So yes the only thing we can control is the ground we occupy. And having a great sherif is a key component of that.
In addition to driving up the cost of vehicles, safety and efficiency mandates prevent new sellers from entering the market. Hence no objections from the big players when more airbags, cameras and such are inflicted by the tax-eaters. They get to proclaim their concern for us and the planet as they rest in the knowledge that a rebellious inventor/entrepreneur with better ideas is no threat to them whatsoever.
You gotta love it, Roland: Big Gov, which has its own DOJ Antitrust Division, is by far the most important engine of de facto oligopoly via regulation.
Same Big Gov that set itself up 234 years ago to ‘protect’ the Bill of Rights, only to turn it into a nearly-completed hit list.
I puke in their general direction. FJB!
‘Government pays very well, everywhere. This includes government school “teachers” and armed government workers.’ — eric
Like an iceberg whose mass is mostly underwater, the largest cost of government employment is hidden, in the form of pensions with higher payouts than in the private sector.
But worse still, because gov pensions are run chronically underfunded, working people get dinged to bail out their periodic crises. The town where I shop added an extra percentage point of sales tax to bail out the broke police, fire and county workers pension. Examples abound nationwide.
Underfunded gov pensions barely stayed afloat during a 13-year bull market since 2009. Just imagine how fast they’ll croak when the next recession/oil shock chops share prices in half again. Ouch! Dang! Nobody coulda seen that coming!
Meanwhile, the niggardly pension scheme for the little people — Social Security — is approximately 20% funded. The trustees cheerfully report that its funded status will descend to zero in 2034, after which FICA tax revenues will pay only 75% of benefits.
Pension wars of the 2020s — featuring the barely-surviving forced at gunpoint to support the princely retirements of legions of privileged government workers — could make the current vaccine wars look like a kindergarten game of red rover.
If you ain’t got the do re mi, boy
If you ain’t got the do re mi
Better go back to your beautiful Texas
Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
— Woody Guthrie, Do Re Mi
Most of the rest of us are going to have to spend our “golden years” working as greeters at Walmart. I don’t see why they shouldn’t have to, as well.
Not likely if you aren’t fully shanked with booster #243 and enrolled in the Beast passport system.
The Golden years for most might be scratching by subsistence living off-grid hoping the gestapo drones continue to pass overhead.
Federal reserve, federal mileage fiats, federal safety fiats, federal bailouts, federal enforced cba’s. What’s the common thread? Hmmm.
Eric – does your number include or exclude other gigs they have on the side (legal or illegal), such as their stock trades on insider info, or the 10% for the “big guy”….
Pre-Covid, the big Chevy dealer in Austin resorted to 90 month loans and repossesion of the current vehicle as part of the finance “package” to move the $50,000 four cylinder Silverado pickups, what few did not end up as rental lot fodder out at ABIA.
People have no idea what they are doing signing up for a nearly eight year loan on a vehicle with a 3-5 year warranty. They are responsible for that blown engine if it happens while they are still on the loan.
Hi, my name’s…Chad…I’d like to talk to you about your car’s warranty…
And remember, that salary is mostly take-home pay. They get a pension, health insurance and all that other stuff that is taken out of our gross pay. I have to put aside 15% of my income for retirement, and even that doesn’t feel like it is going to be enough. With my $5,000 deductible health “care” plan I still pay $300/month just for myself. Of course my employer matches my 401(k) and pays more than my copay, but the fact that I have to pay a copay amount at all is cash I never see.
In the constant online repeating that teachers are underpaid among other government employees I keep pointing out that even if they make less than people in the productive sector they get more in the end. These people actually whine about the pittance that goes to their tax funded pensions that are taxing people out of their homes. Explaining to them that we have to pay 12% social security (employer half is an accounting fiction) and then save outside of social security on top of it to the tune of 6-25% is something they can’t grasp. Oh but the horrors of the 3% or whatever they have to pay.
Teachers are the worst of the tax feeders, let’s nor forget that they get full time pay for part time work. Since there’s 365 days in a year and the requirement here for a school “year” is 180 days it’s a great gig for them.
Also not to mention they get off all the school vacation days and holidays and don’t have to go to work on “snow days” while I’d be out doing doing power restorations during that storm.
Teachers live in alternative reality. They have no clue what it takes to earn the same amount of money including the cash value of their benefits in the productive sector.
It’s worse Brent – as regards government school “teachers.”
They feel entitled to what they are paid – and that it is our obligation to pay them.
Indeed, Mike –
And, worse. These “teachers” are often uneducated, arrogant incompetents with “degrees” in social studies or similar. I attended a private school as a kid and thank god for that. This school had teachers – people who knew their subjects and so commanded respect. As opposed to a government school English “teacher” who is barely literate herself, the football coach who “teaches” history and so on…
In other news, you know how electric semitractors have been vaporware so far (i.e. – Nikola)? Well, maybe not so much. I saw an article today about Volvo’s electric truck (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/swedens-ab-volvo-wins-its-largest-electric-truck-order-so-far-2021-10-06/) and decided to do a bit more digging. Seems Freightliner wants in on the act, too (https://freightliner.com/electric-trucks/). For me personally, I still think it’s impractical for long-haul routes, for the same reason Tesla’s are impractical for anyone outside of urban areas – lack of range, too long to recharge, etc. The Freightliner specs page says it is supposed to have a 250-mile range and “fast” recharge to 80% in 90 minutes (what a joke! I could make a fuel stop in my diesel truck in 10-15 minutes – including checking under the hood and cleaning the windshield, even using the bathroom; and the range on my tractor was in the neighborhood of 700 miles). It appears they’re making headway, though I think full replacements for diesel semi trucks is a long way off, if it ever happens.
Maybe they could build relay stations, like the Pony Express.
Thanks for those links, Jim. I shudder to think of the generating capacity it will take to power these things on a large scale. Plus every passenger car. Insane.
“Environmentalists” want to mow down every tree in sight to erect windmills and solar panels, and socialists cheerlead for Pfizer as it rakes in tens of billions from mandatory “vaccines.”
What a looney bin the world has become.
I’m waiting for the Tesla SCS ‘SuperTanker Container Ship’.
All electric of course with the deck festooned with solar panels capable of hyper-fast recharging the 1100 foot leviathan in 17 years if the sun stays out.
It’s coming…. We’re almost at peak farce in this reality.
Solar freighters are already being developed:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energysails-harness-wind-sun-clean-up-cargo-ships
Others propose going back to sailing:
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/michelin-commits-to-shipping-product-transatlantic-on-sail-cargo-ship
I had a thought about this after writing it. Do you think Tesla car fires are bad? Can you just imagine how horrendous an electric semi fire would be if they were hauling hazmat? Just picture a gasoline delivery tanker or a truck hauling electric car batteries catching fire. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere within a couple of square miles of that.
Semis would work well as series hybrids. Diesel generator powering electric motors. I am not sure why it hasn’t been done ages ago. There is a cost up involved but if we skip a battery pack the fuel economy increases should pay it back for most trucking companies long before the truck reaches end of life. With a battery pack some diesel fuel taxes could be avoided (recharge when it is possible to do so from a fixed source) and it might even still work.
Someone please help this beaten-down middle aged guy get a job with fedgov in DC. Please!