Photo credit: James Adamson
There’s a common, everyday issue that reveals just how little Donald Trump and Republicans actually care about all those “forgotten Americans” who desperately hoped two years ago a self-absorbed billionaire blowhard would somehow be on their side. That issue is gas mileage. Seriously, is there any driver in America who doesn’t want to get better gas mileage?
It’s not an issue affecting pampered heirs to family fortunes who’ve been chauffeured about in limousines since they were toddlers. Republicans in Congress have other priorities. They’re eager to join Trump in rolling back improved mileage standards for the U.S. auto industry simply to destroy another political achievement of former President Barack Obama and make a bundle of money for their own wealthy campaign contributors in the oil industry.
Halting improvements in gas mileage also coincides nicely with the new mission of Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), namely to stop protecting our environment and discontinue efforts to reduce wildfires, flooding, drought and other devastating weather extremes caused by polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases. That’s why the EPA proudly supported the Trump administration’s announced freeze on Obama’s improvements in gas mileage at 37 miles per gallon in 2020 instead of continuing to increase gasoline mileage to more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025.
Money Out of Our Pockets
Trump and Republicans taking more money out of your pocket to swell the profits of oil companies comes at an awkward moment economically. Trump brags about a robust economy, but his own Labor Department reported last week rising prices had already totally wiped out the meager wage gains made by U.S. workers over the past year. The cost of living rose 2.9% from July 2017 to July 2018, while wages increased 2.7%.
One of the primary culprits causing inflation to hit a six-year high this summer was energy prices. A gallon of gasoline increased 50 cents over the past year to an average of $2.87 according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). That’s just the beginning. Americans are about to begin paying far more for many other products as a result of enormous tariffs Trump is slapping on imports to start a raging trade war.
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If coming up with new ways to hurt ordinary Americans sounds like a really bad idea shortly before midterm elections that could create an important check on a dangerously incompetent president, you’re right. Obviously, Republicans can’t publicly admit they’re stopping improvements in gas mileage negotiated with the auto industry and already underway and forcing drivers to pay more for gasoline just to make their oil company pals richer. So, they pretend to believe some of the most laughably outrageous lies Trump has ever come up with, and that’s really saying something.
Get this: If you saved lots of money by driving a more fuel-efficient car like Obama wanted everybody to do, it could kill you. Shelling out more money to Exxon actually protects your life. If it were suddenly much cheaper to drive, people would drive a lot more. The more people drive, the more time they’re on the road. The longer they’re on the road, the more chances they have to get into fatal accidents.
The administration even made up (and we mean that literally) specific numbers of deaths that would be prevented by paying more for gasoline. It claimed there would be 6,340 fewer fatalities through 2025 if new cars got worse gas mileage—like Trump wants. But, if cars with excellent gas mileage are killers, old klunkers are just as deadly. The White House claims a similar number of lives would be saved, because new cars without improvements to gas mileage would be cheaper to buy. More people could afford them and wouldn’t be driving around in unsafe klunkers.
Poor people don’t drive unsafe cars that keep breaking down by choice. They’ve never been able to afford new cars. And there are many factors causing traffic fatalities but saving money on gasoline isn’t one of them. Fuel efficiency isn’t even a major factor increasing the price of new cars anymore. U.S. car makers already sell passenger cars in Europe that get between 40 and 60 miles per gallon and SUVs that get more than 50. They could easily make them for us. The new technologies increasing the cost of new cars are actually safety improvements including backup cameras and lane departure detection. That’s why fatalities per miles driven have steadily dropped as gas mileage has risen.
Fill the Scott Holes?
Wisconsin is caught between two conflicting Republican election schemes. Gov. Scott Walker won’t increase the state gasoline tax to repair Wisconsin’s lousy roads, the fourth worst in the nation according to a U.S. Department of Transportation study. But Trump and congressional Republicans want to force drivers to pay more for gasoline anyway to attract more campaign contributions from the oil industry. It’s the worst of all worlds—paying more for worse gas mileage while driving on roads filled with “Scott-Holes.”
