Governor Walz says we need legislation for the future of electric cars because we need to be where the puck will be. One of my core tenets in business is that capitalism works best when technology and the economy are working and there is a good time for progress.
When the technology and economics existed, the government did a lot to promote the use of ethanol, including subsidizing the ethanol industry. So there are times when government intervention has helped a new profitable industry.
But where is the puck now? An old lady gave me a ride in her electric car at least five years ago and I was impressed with how easily she accelerated in city traffic to overtake another vehicle. So I did a little research to find out where the puck is.
You can travel 100 miles on $ 3 electricity. That’s further than your gasoline car with $ 3 gasoline.
There are new electric cars in the $ 30,000 range. So the economy is there. Since there are not many petrol stations yet, you would have to use your electric vehicle for short trips. This would make your gas vehicle last much longer as a gas engine needs to be warmed up to run efficiently and not wear out as quickly.
So you can keep your minivan for family vacations and get around town cheaply. The electric cars I checked had a battery capacity of 40 and 62 kilowatt hours. Since the smallest circuit breaker in your house is 10 kilowatts, if your last city break ended at 11 p.m., your car could be fully charged by 6 a.m.
Being where the puck is could mean we start buying electric cars now so the puck doesn’t hit us in the ankles. It is just as right to subsidize electric cars now as it was back then to get ethanol started. According to economic theory, a subsidy is only good for a viable new industry, but then it is no longer good to continue subsidizing capitalism once the industry is up and running.
Roger L. Elgersma
Whistle stone
