Matt discusses the merits of regulating horsepower in an effort to improve efficiency, which was presented by David Sandalow:
Regulation, he plausibly argues, could get us out of a horsepower arms race in a way that would have little negative impact on anyone’s life while allowing us to capture technological gains in engine efficiency in terms of reduced fuel consumption rather than in terms of faster cars that let you get to the traffic jam more quickly.
I appreciate the logic here… and I must say my 90 horsepower car gets me around just fine, but if our objective is to improve efficiency and our tool is regulation, wouldn’t it just make more sense to regulate efficiency?
July 3, 2008 at 9:45 am |
Of course it would. But then we’d be behaving sensibly, and the politicians and lobbyists will have none o’ that!
WAAAYYYY too sensible….