Jackie Speier, the new representative for the Hillsborough area (replacing Tom Lantos), has proposed her first bill: The re-implementation of a national speed limit. Unfortunately, her proposal shows a surprising ignorance of history.
The 55 MPH speed limit was imposed because at that time there was not enough gasoline available, at any price, to meet the needs of the driving public. If you were alive then you may recall only being able to buy gas on certain days of the week, based on the last digit of your license plate. Because it was a true shortage, even having the government's permission to buy gas on a certain day didn't mean that the gas was available, and you were bound to wait in line to get what little you could.
That is not the case now as there is plenty of supply readily available. As we've seen from the driving statistics, people are rationally reducing the amount of gasoline they use in response to the higher prices. There is no need for government to get involved as the market is operating at an efficiency that is impossible for the government to match. People are driving fewer miles, they're driving more slowly, and they're trading their fuel-guzzling trucks for more efficient sedans, economy cars, and hybrids.
All of this is rational market behavior that honors the free choice of free peoples. To bring the heavy hand of government into this market will further distort it and cause greater problems than it solves. Instead of trying to force people into behaving the way they want them to, which is a short-term approach at best, Congress should instead be working to solve the long-term problem. We need more renewable, non-food source energy like solar, wind, and most importantly, nuclear. We also need to open up ANWAR, off-shore, and the Rockies for oil production, and build more refineries. These are the concrete steps that the government can take towards making America less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
Why shouldn't they pass a special law about it?
Posted by: new jersery windshield replacement | 2011.01.24 at 06:07 AM