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I’ve never pretended that I could predict the future. But sometimes the sequence of events make doing so very easy. Our government’s continued manipulation of the auto and energy industries is one such instance. One needn’t be Nostradamus to see where the government is taking us. Even Carnac the Magnificent (if you don’t know who Carnac is, look him up) would have seen the writing on the wall. In case you haven’t been paying attention, read on and I will do my best Nostradamus imitation. I promise it will be at least as good as Carnac.

Before I go into the meat of my comments let’s remember the differences in a command, centrally planned economy, and a free market economy. The former is the centerpiece of socialistic/communistic countries. The government mandates how many of what products a manufacturer may produce. In a free market economy consumers decide what products they prefer and manufacturers meet that demand. With that simple definition in mind let’s see how the government has continued to push us away from a free market economy and toward a centrally planned economy.

The government began the process of taking control of the auto industry in 1975 when Congress passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. CAFE mandated, on a sales weighted basis, how many miles per gallon auto manufacturer’s fleets must average. That basically removed the buyer’s ability to purchase big luxury cars. Central planners, through regulations, relegated those cars to the dustbin of history. The luxury class still exists, but is now defined by the technology it includes as standard equipment. It has nothing to do with size. What was considered a mid size car in the 1980s is a full size car today. CAFE directives are regularly updated. Each update increases the required miles per gallon of the fleet. Not coincidentally, manufacturers must produce and sell more small and economy size cars in order to meet the government mandates. Even that’s not enough.

Now the government is forcing manufacturers to produce, and consumers to buy, more electric vehicles. President Biden has set a ‘target’ of 50% of all new cars sold in the U.S. be electric by 2030. An Executive Order issued by stylish, but substance free, Governor Newsom mandates that 100% of all new cars sold in California must be emission free by 2035! There are 15-17 states whose elected officials are either too lazy, too stupid, or too gutless, to make decisions on their own and have therefore decided to mimic whatever California does. All of these states combined equal approximately 30% of all new car sales in the U.S. Everyone reading this understands that neither the ‘target’ or the Executive Order will be achieved. That isn’t the point. The point is that as citizens of a “free country” we shouldn’t be content to sit idly by and allow a very small number of power hungry politicians to tell us what we may and may not purchase. Intelligent people recognize that our power grid isn’t capable of handling the current energy needs of the American people, that is before the monstrous additional demands that millions of electric vehicles will require. As demand goes up, so do prices. That is precisely what the power hungry central planners need. The more people there are in poverty the greater the need for the government overlords. That is a win for socialists.

The government inserting itself into the free market has nothing to do with intelligence. It has nothing to do with bettering the lives of Americans. It doesn’t even have anything to do with climate change. It is all about control and power. In the first couple of days after Joe Biden took office he launched a full out offensive against the fossil fuel industry. He pulled every lever available to him to restrict and reduce the supply of all fossil fuels. The predicted result was historically high gasoline prices, and a 40 year high in the rate of inflation. Both of which crushed the lower middle class and poor people in the U.S. The USA sits atop the largest recoverable fossil fuel resources in the world. At a time when it is in huge demand our Democrat led government is depriving us of a readily available, low cost, source of energy. To knowingly harm huge portions of our population is at least a dereliction of duty. To purposely create a situation that will cause the starvation and deprivation of millions of people around the world is certainly immoral, if not criminal. Those starved for political power are not concerned with the harm, deprivation, or death, of others. These evil people view such nuisances as nothing more than collateral damage on their way to world domination.

If we don’t stiffen our spines and make our voices heard, what follows is what I think is in store for the citizens of this great nation. The government will continue to punish fossil fuel companies with regulations, taxes, and mandates. This will lead to lower production. As fossil fuel companies produce less, government will vilify producers as evil, money grabbing, unpatriotic, crooks. Supported by a compliant press/media, and sold as being for the benefit of the people, the government will ultimately take control of the energy sector. Then the government will continue its current process of rationing gasoline. Make no mistake, when gasoline hit $5.00 a gallon, millions of people were forced to stay home because they couldn’t afford it. As we cut back on oil production gasoline prices will continue to rise. Just as the planners planned. Those who can afford an electric vehicle will buy one, those who can’t will be forced onto public transportation. Grandpa and grandma will see their children and grandchildren less frequently as the cost to travel will become prohibitive for many of us.

Power outages will morph from brownouts to blackouts. As millions of electric vehicles are plugged into the grid the frequency of energy blackouts will become so burdensome that the government will ride in like a white knight and take control of all utilities. Every consumer will be forced to install ‘smart thermostats’. We will be told it is our patriotic duty to do so. The government will then decide how warm your home will be in the winter, and how cool in the summer. Each home will receive a government calculated monthly electricity allotment. We will be free to choose how we allocate that allotment. However, it will not be enough to power multiple televisions, internet connections, cooking, lighting, charging our phones and cars, and taking daily showers or baths. While we will be free to choose, all of the above will not be an option. Whether our vehicles are electric or internal combustion we will be limited as to the number of miles we can drive a month. Each auto will be equipped with an electronic monitor that reports miles driven to the government. When we reach the maximum miles allowed our cars will automatically shut down. We will be forced to stay home.

If you are over the age of 60 you probably won’t experience much of the above. If you are under the age of 50 or so, you will see gasoline prices of $9.00 or more per gallon. Bloomberg recently reported that, over the last year, electricity costs have risen double digits all over the country. To keep these costs from exploding, you will have to deal with gasoline and electricity rationing in your life time. The only way to escape this eventuality is for tens of millions of us to be steadfast in contacting our elected representatives to demand they pass laws that will allow us to take advantage of our God given natural resources. It is reported that there is enough oil, gas, and coal, under our feet to power America for centuries. Those who wont comply must be removed from office. I thought it was going to happen this past November. Apparently the American people are still not angry enough at the current mismanagement of our country. We must be just as diligent in contacting auto manufacturers. They must understand the majority of us want to keep gas powered cars. We must convince them that we will reward those companies who give us the most options in that area. Our silence will ultimately lead to the demise of the greatest nation, utilizing the greatest economic system, in history.

Thank you for reading my blog. I suggest you print this one so that you can check out the accuracy of my predictions. If you think it is of value please share it with your friends. Bob