That's fine and all, but...
27/1/19 21:14![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiaa posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
talkpoliticsFactbox: German cities ban older diesel cars
IMO it's wrong to ban older diesels. Especially overnight. Some officials sat on their fat asses and suddenly came up with the idea that effective from tomorrow, all older diesel cars are banned. The fact that small businesses cannot afford to buy electric right now, immediately, not without taking a huge loan that'll severely cripple their well-being, notwithstanding.
It's like telling people: "Sorry, we sold you a bunch of crap and now we are going to ban you from using it. You have one day to comply, or else". It won't go down well. Ban the sale of new ones instead, give them a grace period and that's it. The old ones will disappear eventually, just like ICE in general.
Of course a balance should be struck between these things. Of course it's wrong to damage the environment. Of course it's wrong to poison people, which is what older diesels do. In the U.S., more than half of traffic deaths are traffic pollution deaths, as opposed to traffic accident deaths. That's clear. But you can't just suddenly decide that millions of people should get rid of a major asset, and force them to immediately replace it with a new, more expensive one. How's that helping ordinary people?
A second, more heretic idea, is that the government should buy the assets off the owners who bought them in good faith. We need to stop the problem at the source and not go after the people with the least power. Just look at how the financial crisis was handled in the US to see why we need to look out for the guy at the bottom. This move is ultimately benefiting big business, which could afford to make the transition more painlessly. So you're actually hurting the smallfolk. Again. This is bound to not end well for those in power who've come up with the idea.
In the US, the government bailed out the big banks, merged them into still bigger banks, the homeowners got foreclosed on, and now the financial sector is finding ways to trick people into just as risky loans again. We are headed for the same bubble market all over again because we punished the powerless people at the bottom with foreclosures while rewarding the wealthy elite at the top with hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer-funded bailout. And that never made them re-think their ways, because why should it? Now the diesel ban is going to achieve a similar thing.
All the while, big producers like BMW currently being investigated for cheating on emissions just like VW and other car makers. And some BMWs have been recalled. It is clear that some BMWs don't meet European emission standards. Instead of punishing the smallfolk, why not focus on cleaning house with big business first? The manufacturers who cheated should not be let off the hook, and the customer should not be the one who foots the bill yet again. Not this time.
Either buy vehicles off people who are stuck with an asset they can't use or allow them to use the asset they bought in good faith - but don't let the powerless consumers pay the price. That isn't fair.
IMO it's wrong to ban older diesels. Especially overnight. Some officials sat on their fat asses and suddenly came up with the idea that effective from tomorrow, all older diesel cars are banned. The fact that small businesses cannot afford to buy electric right now, immediately, not without taking a huge loan that'll severely cripple their well-being, notwithstanding.
It's like telling people: "Sorry, we sold you a bunch of crap and now we are going to ban you from using it. You have one day to comply, or else". It won't go down well. Ban the sale of new ones instead, give them a grace period and that's it. The old ones will disappear eventually, just like ICE in general.
Of course a balance should be struck between these things. Of course it's wrong to damage the environment. Of course it's wrong to poison people, which is what older diesels do. In the U.S., more than half of traffic deaths are traffic pollution deaths, as opposed to traffic accident deaths. That's clear. But you can't just suddenly decide that millions of people should get rid of a major asset, and force them to immediately replace it with a new, more expensive one. How's that helping ordinary people?
A second, more heretic idea, is that the government should buy the assets off the owners who bought them in good faith. We need to stop the problem at the source and not go after the people with the least power. Just look at how the financial crisis was handled in the US to see why we need to look out for the guy at the bottom. This move is ultimately benefiting big business, which could afford to make the transition more painlessly. So you're actually hurting the smallfolk. Again. This is bound to not end well for those in power who've come up with the idea.
In the US, the government bailed out the big banks, merged them into still bigger banks, the homeowners got foreclosed on, and now the financial sector is finding ways to trick people into just as risky loans again. We are headed for the same bubble market all over again because we punished the powerless people at the bottom with foreclosures while rewarding the wealthy elite at the top with hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer-funded bailout. And that never made them re-think their ways, because why should it? Now the diesel ban is going to achieve a similar thing.
All the while, big producers like BMW currently being investigated for cheating on emissions just like VW and other car makers. And some BMWs have been recalled. It is clear that some BMWs don't meet European emission standards. Instead of punishing the smallfolk, why not focus on cleaning house with big business first? The manufacturers who cheated should not be let off the hook, and the customer should not be the one who foots the bill yet again. Not this time.
Either buy vehicles off people who are stuck with an asset they can't use or allow them to use the asset they bought in good faith - but don't let the powerless consumers pay the price. That isn't fair.
