Economists often talk about “perverse incentives”. This is a type of incentive that is, usually, accidentally but also unwisely and even stupidly put into place–most often by government–into the market that makes people and businesses do things that aren’t good, but which it seems to them in their immediate and intuitively perceived environment they must do (and often they are correct).

So, politicians want to force consumers to buy cars that, perhaps, they don’t perceive are in their best interests–at least not at the present. However, you would be wrong to think that those politicians are doing it for the environment, for they are not. It’s for their own power. And you would be wrong to think that those politicians are telling the truth about it. Instead, they are saying that they need the money to fix up the nation’s decaying highway system.

“We have to pay for it, and paying for it may mean an increase in the federal gas tax. Nobody wants to say those words. I’ve said them to you because unless we’re honest about this, we’re not going to see an [adequate] federal highway bill,” says Democrat (of course) Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

At this writing, the federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. That goes on top of any state gasoline taxes that are also supposed to be used for roads and highways. People like Dick Durbin want it raised.

Let hybrid and electric vehicles compete on the open market. We are taxed enough already.