Transportation secretary: The more Americans are in pain at the pump the better it is to have an electric car
Soaring gas prices in the US are a “benefit” to owners of electric vehicles(EV), Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said while testifying before a House committee on Tuesday.
Buttigieg proposed that gas prices for people currently paying more than $5 per gallon could be offset by those in need. “pain”Instead, you can buy an electric vehicle (EV) for a price that is more than $65,000, according to Kelly Blue Book automotive research firm.
“The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles,”The official from the Biden administration stated this before asking Republican Representative Carlos Gimenez, Florida, to subsidize EVs with tax credits.
Gimenez replied by noting that subsidizing EVs would not make them any cheaper, contrary to Buttigieg’s claim, and that “we’re all paying for it at the end. We’re all paying taxes.”
Another GOP representative, Thomas Massie (Kentucky), responded to Buttigieg’s suggestion by pointing out that buying electric cars would cost Americans more in energy and use even more fossil fuel-derived electricity.
“It would take four times as much electricity to charge the average household’s cars as the average household uses on air conditioning,” Massie said.
Biden energy advisers and other Biden climate experts have often recommended that Americans with limited incomes switch to electric vehicles. The higher usage of clean energy can be seen as a positive in the face of rising energy prices.
Continue reading
Buttigieg has an easy solution to rising gas prices
In August 2021, the Biden administration officially announced an initiative to reach a goal of 50% electric vehicle adoption by 2030 by working with automakers and autoworkers to “drive American leadership forward on clean cars.”
In November, Buttigieg told MSNBC that families who make the switch could see a “$12,500 discount” in transportation costs.
Joe Biden also spoke out in praise of May’s record-breaking gas prices, saying they were part and parcel of “the American Dream.” “an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it’s over, we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels.”
Critics of the move to switch to electric vehicles have questioned whether the country’s energy grid could even handle such a transition. During Tuesday’s hearing, Representative Massie cited a study indicating that under full compliance with Biden’s plan, an American family would use 25 times more electricity to charge their cars than they would to power their refrigerators.
“Do you think it would strain the grid if everybody plugged in 25 refrigerators in every household?” Massie asked.
“Well, if we didn’t make any upgrades to the grid, sure,” Buttigieg responded. “If we add yesterday’s grid with tomorrow’s cars, it’s not going to work.”
He stated that more EVs would be supported by a stronger power grid and that Energy and Transportation Departments are already meeting. “map out some of the needs.”
