Electric Cars and Government Intervention

Gary discusses electric cars, economics, and the current administration’s love affair with making political laws influenced by climate change.

Almost every business in the United States started and prospered without the help of the government. This does not mean that once some businesses started and prospered that they did not try to use the power and authority of civil government to thwart competition or lobby for benefits.

In his fascinating book, The Myth of the Robber Barons Burton Folsom divides the entrepreneurs into two groups — “market entrepreneurs and political entrepreneurs. The market entrepreneurs, such as James J. Hill, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller, succeeded by producing a quality product at a competitive price. The political entrepreneurs such as Edward Collins in steamships and railroads, the leaders of the Union Pacific Railroad, were men who used the power of government to succeed. They tried to gain subsidies, or in some way use government to stop competitors. The market entrepreneurs helped lead to the rise of the U. S. as a major economic power. By 1910, the U. S. dominated the world in oil, steel, and railroads led by Rockefeller, Charles Schwab (and Andrew Carnegie), and Hill. The political entrepreneurs, by contrast, were a drain on the taxpayers and a thorn in the side of the market entrepreneurs. Interestingly, the political entrepreneurs often failed without help from government [in that] they could not produce competitive products.”

Henry Ford’s Model A, first produced in 1903–04, followed by the Model C, and later Model T did not have much of a traveling superstructure. Roads were not what they are today. Entrepreneurs who saw the future took advantage of the burgeoning automobile market and opened up service stations across the country with no subsidies from the government.

Competitors entered the market forcing Ford to build a better automobile.

Today, there are subsidies for electric cars and charging stations. If electric cars can’t make it on their own, then they are not viable at this time. Governments should stay out of the industry. Like any new product, the initial cost is high. The same was true for home computers and cell phones. There were no subsidies. Now almost anyone can afford a computer and cell phone.

Gary discusses electric cars and the current administration’s love affair with making political laws influenced by climate change. There is much to like about the EV industry, but there is also much to be addressed and figured out before EV can challenge the internal combustion engine and petroleum. Government doesn’t understand economics, yet they consistently make decisions with huge economic ramifications, and usually for the worse.

Click here for today’s episode

Click here to browse all episodes of The Gary DeMar Podcast

American Vision’s mission is to Restore America to its Biblical Foundation—from Genesis to Revelation. American Vision (AV) has been at the heart of worldview study since 1978, providing resources to exhort Christian families and individuals to live by a Biblically based worldview. Visit www.AmericanVision.org for more information, content and resources