There is nothing to stop my State of California to enforce higher standard than the Federal ones. Actually we've been doing that for decades. However, there's nothing that prevents Federal Government from withholding money to State program for non-compliance, such as immigration policy.
Here's the likely outcome of that (provided, of course, that Detroit shows some backbone). The cost of new cars in those states will accelerate rapidly. The costs of emissions compliance for those states will only have to be borne by those buying the new cars that are built to meet the elevated standard, much like the current price differential with california. Right about the time that the price difference hits a certain, indefinable number, there will begin an exodus of buyers to out of state cars. The bureaucratic roadblocks will be stymied by ingenuity, and there is a good chance consumer pressure may lead to a rollback in some states. The big key will be whether or not Detroit shows some backbone. That is most certainly not a given.
There is nothing to stop my State of California to enforce higher standard than the Federal ones. Actually we've been doing that for decades. However, there's nothing that prevents Federal Government from withholding money to State program for non-compliance, such as immigration policy.
ReplyDeleteHere's the likely outcome of that (provided, of course, that Detroit shows some backbone). The cost of new cars in those states will accelerate rapidly. The costs of emissions compliance for those states will only have to be borne by those buying the new cars that are built to meet the elevated standard, much like the current price differential with california. Right about the time that the price difference hits a certain, indefinable number, there will begin an exodus of buyers to out of state cars. The bureaucratic roadblocks will be stymied by ingenuity, and there is a good chance consumer pressure may lead to a rollback in some states.
ReplyDeleteThe big key will be whether or not Detroit shows some backbone. That is most certainly not a given.