Donald Trump: Liberator?

Donald Trump: Liberator?

Although Donald Trump proclaimed April 2 as “Liberation Day” perhaps he should change the date to June 12. That was when he signed the law striking down California’s emissions standards. Recall that California would have phased out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 and that 11 other states and DC had foolishly committed to do the same. If Trump had any sense of the dramatic, he should have waited until June 19^th (Juneteenth).

Why Juneteenth – black liberation day? Its because EVs are racist, of course. The cost is out of the reach of most black and brown households. They are expensive. A base Hyundai Kona costs $22,595 while a Hyundai Kona Electric is $35,295. A base Ford F-150 is $40,960 while a base Ford F-150 Lightning: $51,975. However, I defy you to find a base Lightning. I was at my local Ford dealer getting my F-250 diesel serviced and every Lightning I saw was over $70,000. One was over $90,000! Even with the EV credits, now expired, the EVs costs more. If the greenies were interested in equity, they would lobby for cheaper EVs from China. But Joe Biden kept Trump’s 100% tariff on Chinese EVs. Some equity. Let them eat cake!

The mean family income of black households is $53,000 well below the $75,000 of white households. Yet even among whites, the average cost of an EV is prohibitive. The average price of an EV is $56,910 while that of a gas powered car is $48,900. Personally, I think both price averages are outrageous. Before tariffs the cheapest electric was a Nissan Leaf at $29,280. I guess we could buy one, put mag wheels on it, lower the suspension, give it a spiffy paint job, put a spoiler on back and hang foam dice from the rear view mirror. Never mind.

Here is what one EV advocate says “Among Black and Latino consumers, incomes and credit scores are lower overall, which can make new EVs financially out of reach for families that might otherwise consider buying them. As more vehicle options emerge and older EVs make their way to the used car market, costs to purchase an EV will drop and fall in line with gasoline counterparts. But equitable EV adoption can only be achieved through the creation of incentive programs that are effective and accessible for all consumers.” All total, blacks buy only 2 percent of all EVs. Did anyone suggest an additional incentive rebate for black and brown buyers? Sort of an EV reparations program?

Then there is the charging problem. Most EV owners are white college educated homeowners with home charging stations. Only 44 percent of blacks own their homes. Those people living in apartments would have to have chargers in their apartment complex or have to charge at charging stations – if they can find one that works. Not surprisingly charging stations are located where white, college educated people frequent – and that is not in the ‘hood. Charging deserts exist in poor neighborhoods and not at toney malls. Of course, if there is a Pilot/Flying J handy, you can always go charge at an interstate exit and enjoy a meal at the Denny’s while you wait the hour or so it takes. 

BTW, what happened to the $7.5 billion to build 500,000 charging stations funded in the 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act? So far 37 have been built. Why isn’t this a scandal? How many were supposed to be in the ‘hood? But just remember what happened to payphones in poor neighborhoods before contemplating putting in a charging station.

But is buying an EV a rational decision or an emotional one? The comparable price studies show that after three years of ownership, EVs may actually be more costly than gas vehicles. They are more expensive to repair and have higher insurance costs. Some in the let-them-eat-cake groups said that poorer people could buy used EVs (watch out for replacement battery costs) or ride public transit. Is that why Gavin Newsom has spent over $70 billion on a bullet train to nowhere? Couldn’t he just have given poor Californians a grant to buy used EVs? I just love the idea of EV reparations.

One black California politician, Assemblyman Jim Cooper, opposed Newsom’s EV mandate. Cooper said that his constituents could not afford an EV. Cooper wrote an open letter to the state’s largest environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, who, he said, promote policies that “systematically drive racial economic inequities and fuel environmental racism.” Ironically, the CEO of the Sierra Club is a black man, ex-NAACP president Ben Jealous. Cooper points out that low and moderate income Californians are subsidizing wealthy EV owners. Where is the equity in that? He notes the strain on the power grid and the frequent brownouts saying that “Meanwhile, liberal elite policymakers sit, charging their electric cars (for which they received taxpayer rebates), straining the grid while working families lose their electricity and air conditioning during a horrendous heatwave.” Poor black and brown families subsidizing rich white elites? Where is the outrage?

So Trump is the liberator. He has rescued black and brown people from the inequities of the EV. Let the greenie weenies wail and let Gavin Newsom sue saying “We will sue to stop this illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters.”  Wow. And this from a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environmental-industrial complex and the education-industrial complex. 

Some will argue that Trump’s actions are racist because black and brown people have higher incidences of respiratory diseases such as asthma – environmental racism. The argument is that those diseases would be lessened by the removal of internal combustible engines. This “environmental justice” crowd say that EVs are a vehicle for racial equity – provided black folk are forced to either buy them because they have no choice or ride public transportation. Hey, you may be walking but at least the air will be cleaner – we think. Most of us recognize this as sheer sophistry. Rather than being racist, Trump’s actions are actually liberating. Black and brown people are liberated from the yoke of EV tyranny and being condemned to EV purgatory. That is why June 12 is the real “Liberation Day” and Donald Trump is the liberator.