Five things:
1 - You did read the story about CAFE standards going up right? Meaning manufactures must make and sell more fuel-efficient vehicles and so even if you could afford said vehicle, you won't be able to get one because it's not being made.
As I've worked on the corporate side of automotive since the mid '90's, yes, you could say I'm fairly familiar with CAFE standards. But the standards won't affect vehicle types
as much as building materials, engine/propulsion types, the associated electronics and fuel systems. You will still be able to buy Corvettes, Porsche 911's and even Ford F-350's. As you know, "CAFE" stands for Corporate
Average Fuel Economy. Fleet vehicles will be affected the most = grocery getters. What is fairly certain is that you will not see more use of steel, but rather more use of aluminum and composite materials in body and chassis production. You will see more use of electronics, lubricants and drivetrains that are more efficient. Do you have any idea just how inefficient the drivetrain on the average current automobile is? After putting it on a dyno, we found that the parasitic loss of my (high performance AWD) vehicle is around 30%! Roughly 1/3 of the power my engine generates is ******! Do you have a basic understanding of what parasitic power loss is? But no, it would not be necessary to discontinue the vehicle in order to address that inefficiency.
Look, I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with the 2025 proposals (or that they are entirely realistic). But I am saying, based on past knowledge and data, that we can attain much higher fuel economy than what we have now, and without breaking the bank or ******* off Corvettes, Jags and Porsches. But if you want an H3-T Hummer truck, you can't buy one. Because of something the government did? No, because it was an underpowered piece of junk that got horrible fuel mileage, was of poor build quality, served little/no purpose (outside of being a limp phallic symbol for middle class men AND women)... and the market rejected it, so production has ceased.
2 - Most pickups are used for work and for agriculture, and are not luxury trucks. And while someone who buys a luxury pickup may not be affected by the taxes, those who buy them for work sure are because it's adding to their expense to do business or ****.
I don't know about "most", as I would have to see the data. But yes, many are. Though a significant portion are personal use vehicles bought by people who are not engaged in these activities. But that's beside the point. Just as with current business use vehicles, it would not be at all difficult to exempt (actual) or credit business use vehicles. But if you want a Harley F-350, you may have to pay. I don't know.
3 - How do tax
breaks cost us taxpayers money, when its our damn money to begin with? It doesn't even cost the government money, it in fact produces higher revenues because more people pay, either by people using that money to expand and hire others for jobs or spend it on other things that pays other people, or by not seeing the need to hide their taxable income. Ever heard of the
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? (The tax breaks that
cost the government and other taxpayers money are the ones that make it so people pay
NO taxes or worse, pay
NO taxes and
GET money from the government.
Everyone who makes an income should pay taxes, and paying taxes should be a prerequisite for voting, because then everyone has skin in the game and you don't have people voting to continue their government gravy train, which is a
large contributor to why our county is in the financial shape it's in. But that's a different discussion.)
Yes, being that I received my Economics degree in the 80's, and was taught by a series of conservative professors, one of whom went on to work for the Reagan administration, I am
vaguely familiar with the Laffer Curve and Supply Side Theory.
Just like the Phillips Curve (dealing with inflation vs. unemployment), the Laffer Curve is based on theory, not mathematical law. The only given is that at a 100% tax rate, no one would seek income, as there would be no benefit. So government would receive no tax revenues. At a 0% rate, there would be increased economic activity, but government would receive no tax revenues. Those are the only (accepted) givens. At any rate in between, theory and assumptions take over.
Where the theory has the most problems is it doesn't take into account another economic reality: fiscal policy lag. No fiscal policy has an immediate effect. So even when it works (and yes, Supply Side can work), there will be a loss of tax revenue, at the very least, in the short term. Also, in the case of Supply Side theory, it is not $ for $. Even Laffer admitted that Bush's (incremental) tax cuts were not big enough to spur additional economic activity - they only added to the deficit. If you decrease tax revenues, and there is not enough of a pick up in economic activity to increase GDP by an amount which produces at least as much tax revenue as was lost by the tax cut, then (net/net) you've "lost" money with this policy. As we've seen with Bush's cuts, this can lead to deficit spending. Even if spending had been kept in line, W. Bush would have faced deficits.
4 - The big oil companies pay the same taxes and get the same corporate tax breaks as any other corporation (
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&
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), except for companies like GE who have gamed the system and pay
NO taxes, and in fact
made money from taxes,
our taxes.
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No, they do not. The Section 199 Deduction only applies to "domestic manufacturers". It started at 3% of net income and has risen to 9% as of 2010. In addition to (certain) other domestic activities, it applies to oil and movie production but not food production (retail). It is another of these targeted tax breaks that result from heavy lobbying.
5 - And you're right The free market should dictate what is bought and sold, and what is done where and by who, and not by government incentives of any kind.
Then why would we have targeted tax breaks which only apply to certain activities and businesses?
I have no issue with certain, targeted tax breaks. But I do have an issue with providing tax breaks to industries that are more than healthy enough to walk on their own. And I know full well that many/most of these breaks come about because of groups like ALEC and other associated lobbyists. Given the opportunity, I would wipe out most **** subsidies with the swipe of a pen tomorrow. And I'd have my AK-47 by my side when I did it, because I know there would be a massive **** storm to follow.