Republicans debate safety features. OK, but let’s get basic.
Senate Challenges Auto-Safety Mandates
Please note Senate Committee to Challenge Auto-Safety Mandates That Hurt ‘Affordability’
Senate Republicans in January plan to criticize requirements for safety technology, such as automatic emergency braking and alarms to remind drivers that a child is in the back seat, arguing they are ineffective and will unnecessarily drive up the cost of cars, according to people familiar with the situation.
They aim to head off future requirements touted by safety advocates and argue instead for advancing autonomous vehicle technology.
Chief executives of Detroit’s three automakers and a senior Tesla executive have been summoned to appear at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation—set for Jan. 14—to explain why vehicles have become so expensive. General Motors and Ford Motor are weighing whether to send their CEOs to the hearing, spokespeople said; Jeep-maker Stellantis declined to comment.
“Americans have been clear that they are hyper-focused on affordability,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who chairs the committee, said in announcing the hearing.
Vehicle safety advocates argue such mandates save lives and don’t go far enough when some 40,000 people a year die on American roads.
“Regulation is the best way to make sure everybody’s got this technology that’s highly effective,” said a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Republicans on the committee plan to contend that the most effective vehicle-safety advancements—seat belts and steps to improve vehicle crashworthiness—occurred between the 1960s and 1980s, and that benefits have dwindled since, the people said. Safety technology, such as sensors, can be ineffective and costly to repair, they will argue.
One of the more controversial safety mandates is for auto-braking technology systems, which use sensors, cameras and software to detect potential crashes and automatically apply the brakes. NHTSA last year required automatic braking systems in new cars starting in 2029; automakers have tried to block the rule from taking effect, arguing NHTSA’s standards are impractical and could cause rear-end collisions by braking before drivers expect. The agency said this year that it was considering extending the deadline.
Ten Reasons Why Are Cars Expensive
- Union wages
- Tariffs on steel
- Tariffs on aluminum
- Tariffs on parts
- Tariffs on cars
- Import restrictions and quota limits
- Consumers love big cars
- Consumers want features
- EPA mileage and energy restrictions
- Somewhere towards the bottom of this list is safety features
I don’t doubt we may be over-regulating. But a focus on safety ignores the obvious.
What’s next? Is Cruz going to study why lollypops are sweet?
Trump In Action
Trump put big tariffs on steel, aluminum, and parts. He wants to bring manufacturing back to the US.
Union labor is much more expensive than labor in Mexico.
Trump put 25% tariffs on cars and certain parts imposed by the U.S. under a Section 232 national security provision.
Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are subject to a 100% tariff, effectively doubling their cost and limiting their presence in the U.S. market.
The Budget Lab at Yale estimates the average overall increase at approximately $6,400 per vehicle.
Trump did roll back some tariffs, but not completely, and not on steel and aluminum.
Ripple Impact
If the price of cars and repairs go up, the price of insurance soon follows.
If the price of cars rise, the price of new cars usually follows.
Energy Credits
One thing Trump did on the plus side is kill the need for automakers to buy energy credits.
CNN reports Big savings from regulatory changes
While tariffs capture most of the headlines about government action, there’s been a less publicized windfall for automakers: the end of financial penalties for violating emissions standards.
In the past, automakers avoided fines for selling too many gasoline vehicles by purchasing so-called regulatory credits from companies that fell below emission standards, like electric vehicle maker Tesla.
But those penalties were eliminated in July’s tax and spending bill, saving the automakers billions. Ford CFO Sherry House told reporters last month it will no longer purchase the $2.5 billion worth of regulatory credits it had planned to buy in the future.
In fact, Ford announced it was increasing production of its F-150 and F-Series Super Duty in 2026 by more than 50,000 trucks to meet demand. GM also revealed plans to shift production of one of its Michigan plants from EVs, which have been losing money, to profitable gasoline powered vehicles.
The Squeeze
Bloomberg reports Auto Tariffs Threaten to Make Cars Less Affordable in the US
American drivers were already being squeezed before the tariffs landed. The average sticker price of a new passenger vehicle in the US was around $47,500 as of March, a 22% increase from five years earlier, according to data from valuation specialist Kelley Blue Book. As car prices have risen and high interest rates have made for expensive financing, delinquencies on auto loans were hovering near their highest level in more than 30 years in March.
And now import taxes have been added to the mix, threatening to drive vehicle prices up even further. Automakers and parts manufacturers can absorb some of the added costs, but in most instances, at least some of the extra expenses will eventually be passed on to consumers.
The impact could be particularly pronounced at the cheaper end of the market, as many of the least expensive models are built outside the US to maximize already-low profit margins. Ford, for example, assembles its Maverick compact pickup truck, which starts at $27,000, in Mexico, while GM ships its Buick Envista, which has a base price of $25,095, from South Korea.
Auto loan rejections surge as Gen Z Faces growing credit strain
On November 25, Car Dealership Guy reported Auto loan rejections surge as Gen Z Faces growing credit strain
Loan approval rates are dropping for U.S. car buyers, with Gen Z really feeling the pinch when it comes to securing financing for a vehicle.
The details: New data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveals that the number of applicants denied auto loans has more than doubled in recent months, as more consumers struggle with credit challenges.
- 15.2% of those who applied for auto loans in October 2025 were rejected.
- In the second most recent study, released in June 2025, just 6.7% were rejected.
Ford CEO: China’s EV Costs, Tech, and Quality “Far Superior” to the West
On June 30, I noted Ford CEO: China’s EV Costs, Tech, and Quality “Far Superior” to the West
Ford’s affordable EV project faces Chinese competitors with 20 years of experience and intense government backing.
On May 4, I asked Would You Pay $15,000 for this Nice-Looking EV Toyota? Zoomers?
I am sure many would say yes, but there’s a catch.
The Toyota bZ3X is real, and it is actually on sale starting at that price. There is a catch: To buy one, you have to be in China.
On October 12, I commented US and Canada Have a New Spat Over Auto Tariffs
“Our relationship will never again be what it was,” said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
My Suggestion
End all the tariffs on steel, aluminum, parts, and vehicles.
Remove all import restrictions and let Toyota and BYD import as many cars as they can sell.
Prices will drop.
I bought a Mercedes six years ago it was 45k today it has 60k miles on it but tge dealer wants $400 to put in a new windshield wiper fluid pump because they burry it so deep it takes them an hour to tear the car down. Not only that while I was leasing it year 1 and year 3 some solenoid buried in the bowels under tge engine compartment failed they replaced it twice under warranty when I bought the car at the end of tge lease the part failed again and I’m not going to have it fixed as it’s $1800 a pop and the only difference I see is the little engine light on all the time. Unless you buy a $300 computer interface you can’t even replace break shoes. It’s criminal.
No it’s not tariffs it’s everything else.
Since mid 2010s, articles were written about the price of mid-size automobiles increasing by 5-6 percent per year. (This was close to the actual rate of inflation.) Media shrugged off the disparity, from the 2 percent BLS overall inflation measure, by claiming buyers opted for more accessories. Since some UAW remained under wage freeze from the GM bailout, the increase wasn’t from wages. And mid-size reference eliminated expensive big cars and trucks. Prices were due to inflation in raw goods from five years of the Fed’s low rate policies due to the mortgage crisis. And government subsidies from Obama’s cash-for-clunkers. Which got rid of serviceable used cars for entry level and lower class buyers. (Another Obama ‘new path forward’ failure that comes to a dead-end a decade later.) The senate needs to look in the mirror to answer the issue of unaffordability.
We have a bizarre crash test. Our dummies are tested sans seatbelt. New Hampshire is the only state that doesn’t require seatbelts.
The rest of the crash dummies that crash outside the USA are required to wear their seatbelt in the test.
This results in an awful lot of vehicles being manufactured for the rest of the world, but they cannot be sold in the United States. Much less competition.
It also means a lot of design and material being dumped into a vehicle because the crash dummy is too stupid to wear the seat belt. This could be argued as an unnatural violation to Darwinism.
A recap of the surveys of the reason(s) given when companies that go out of business. (or out of: town, county, state, or the USA) in the fewest words possible, and in no special order.
Taxes, Government regulations, Environmental Activists, Labor unions and Trial lawyers. Those are the only answers they need to give.
Don’t forget corporate greed.
Nothing better than an inexpensive Chinese EV. $20,000 buys you a wonder car. Ask the Chairman of Ford.
The problem is when they disable the cars prior to their invasion, like in the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.
Sure clear the roads for military vehicles only. Smart move China.
Then you might be surprised to know that many of the vehicles in the United States have the same feature. At least under OnStar, it’s considered a theft deterrent.
Time to get a horse?
You are correct.
I’m confident, the Toyota is much higher quality the comparable American junkers at three times the price. I’ve been burned by expensive, low quality American cars and won’t go back.
Only China can save us now. Buy BYD!
BYD the best looking and performing car on the market for its price. Americans and Trump are fools to turn their noses up at this gift horse.
When you analyze a problem, you start by looking at what has changed? Frist off, car prices have been increasing long before Trump imposed tariffs. And the union picture has been around for decades. As a car guy for about 50 years, I can say that it is clear to me that federal regulations have driven most of the increases in cost. It is almost impossible to see this unless you understand how much technology is in a car now vs. the 1990’s. And the cost to develop it has been staggering. Autos were almost entirely unrelated until 1966 or so.
How do you solve the Union problem? China. How do you solve the high expenses of steel, aluminium etc? Scrap these stupid tariffs put in place by the most stupid man on the planet.
Not accurate.
Mandated features include safety items like seat belts, airbags, and energy-absorbing steering columns, and environmental controls such as emissions equipment and catalytic converters, which increased the retail price of cars by approximately one-fifth to one-third of the price increase between 1967 and 2001, or by a significant amount like the $3,800 estimate in a 2016 Heritage Foundation study, which was more than what the EPA claimed the cost would be.
The average price for a new American-made car in 2025 is approximately $50,000, though prices vary significantly by vehicle type and trim level.
So less than 10% of the average and about 16% of the cheapest car available on the market today. So take out all those features that make cars safer and the average price is only $45,000 wow a huge savings. The state sales tax on the average car in TN is $5000.00 so I call BS.
Yeah I was taking you seriously until you reference the heritage foundation. You just burned up all your karma points
Actually I just stole that whole bit from Google. Google was honest enough to recognize The Heritage Foundation. Me recognizing Google…not so much. lol
This is called “roadbocking” and it is basically how Republicans govern. They know they can’t get their caucus to agree on or do much of anything based on historical evidence, so they raise silly little issues, waste time discussing silly little issues and eventually, do little to nothing about doing anything at all about a problem.
The solution to the rising cost of cars and auto insurance is straightforward: transition to a fully autonomous, for-hire mobility system in which humans no longer drive and personal car ownership becomes unnecessary.
In this model, the major costs of personal transportation, car purchases, insurance, fuel, maintenance and repairs, effectively disappear for individuals. Fleet-based services (Uber, Waymo, Lyft, Tesla, and others) would compete for riders, driving prices down. For most people, this would be far cheaper than owning a vehicle that sits idle 90% of the time.
Safety is the other major benefit. Human drivers cause more than 41,000 deaths every year in the U.S. alone. With autonomous fleets, these fatalities and the associated injuries would largely vanish.
Of course, there are powerful stakeholders who would fight hard to block such a transition:
Given these entrenched interests, the solution will likely have to wait until governance is more rational and less influenced by industry pressure, which will likely not occur until we are governed by an AI.
Until then, car and insurance costs will keep rising – until they can’t. As Herb Stein succinctly put it:
“If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”
Voting down w/o a comment is not helpful. What is it that you disagree with in my post?
Didn’t vote you down, but Waymo will just buy its competitors and raise prices to the max possible. It will be much more expensive than just owning and driving your own car.
This is where competition comes in. There are others deploying and/or developing self-driving cars, including companies in China.
See my post on AI. Your thoughts are dangerous.
Cars have become mechanically and electronically extremely complicated and crammed together, so much so that it is impossible for an owner to do any work. The learning experience that boomers had as young drivers fixing their cars etc is now gone.
A smart auto manufacturer would likely do well making a ‘starter car.’ Cheap and easily fixed, with a built in roll bar. easily replaceable panels, and decent brakes.
lot of fun for us boomers working on those old muscle cars. took auto mechanics senior year hs at boces in nystate. funtimes.
Yeah i kind of agree with you. I wish i had paid more attention when my dad was trying to teach me. But i have a buddy in his seventies who is very knowledgeable when it comes to everything mechanical . Always willing to teach. Great guy. We have this conservation often. Newer cars tend to require less work. Besides routine fluids and such. But sucks if its some major. Or something they wont you to get done at the dealership. Luckily theres youtube and the code reader. And things come as units instead of a bunch of parts. Sometimes.
Replacement airbags are in the $2k per range. Lets assume that each airbag adds $2k to the cost of the car, as the airbag installation not only includes the airbag but electronics, engineering for airbag support, etc…. So at $2k per on a car that has six airbags, that adds $12,000, not exactly chump change to me. Note that airbags minimally (if at all) impact survival during a collision if seatbelts are worn, at least per US government statistics.
Airbags do make a car less safe, though, by decreasing visibility, especially for airbags placed on pillars.
For reference of what a car should cost, you can buy a new Toyota Hilux in Thailand for less than $15,000 US dollars. But hey, all Americans are rich, the economy is fantastic, and no American would ever stoop to buying and driving such an inexpensive car.
Possible Pay now or pay more later. Wonder the balance between safety equipment and insurance / medical bills.
Kind of like the expense of catalytic converters vs less cases of pollution related disease in society as a whole.
Automakers purchase these components from suppliers like Autoliv and Joyson Safety Systems in vast quantities, which allows them to negotiate prices significantly lower than the replacement cost for consumers. Airbag often cost the manufacturer little more than an estimated $200, note however that estimate is private info belonging to the manufacturer and not often shared.
Union wages? LMAO ok Mish. You know what union wages are? They’re wages/comp that covers Healthcare, Housing, and Education in the USA. The three things that can’t really be outsourced. The three things that reflect the true effect of our past monetary policy. Go ahead Mish. Blame workers for the behavior of politicians and the rich.
We pay more for healthcare with worse results than countries with socialized healthcare, and this will never change because for-profit healthcare makes some people very rich.
We will never build enough houses because expensive houses make some people very rich.
Student loans though. They’ll always give those out, and well, lots of people want them because the factories and the mills closed down which makes education very expensive. But how else will you support a family? Get a student loan. Don’t worry it won’t expand the money supply because you’ll definitely pay it back right? You’ll definitely get a job with it because you’re definitely college material, not a laborer. You’re an american. The laborers are overseas in those poor countries.
So yea, all that combined with increasingly accomodative monetary policy were allowed to go on because economists shrugged their shoulders and said, “Well, it doesn’t seem to be causing inflation, so it must be okay.” But of course it was causing it. Offshoring just kept prices down on anything that could be outsourced.
Then we found out, whoopsie daisy, supply chains matter, and we can’t fix it because US workers are exposed to Healthcare, Housing, and Education (can’t be outsourced). We want to bring back the supply chain, but that means coming to terms with what we did to the money supply.
Someone has to pay for it. Rich people don’t want to be taxed to subsidize it. Our overlords seem to want to pay for it by squeezing it out of the little people through tariffs / forcing them to buy the expensive domestically produced version, but they’re finding out there’s not enough there to squeeze out.
I’m sick of this mindless blathering from everyone. It’s NOT THE UAW’S FAULT. If the rich want a supply chain, PAY FOR IT, otherwise enjoy being glorified slum lords over what was previously the American Dream while the rest of the world actually makes real progress.
Spare me the sap.
Start with a look at UPS.
Then look at GM.
Then ask yourself why GM and Ford cannot make a profit on small vehicles and produce them in Mexico.
the cost of amerikan empire is a trillion per annum in just department of war and VA. that doesn’t count the unintended consequences like the battle of 9.11.01 and resulting invasions of afghanistan and iraq by the bush crime family. of course the amerikan people love to keep voting for war mongers who want us taxpayers to pay for our bases in germany, japan and italy and korea and mideast and out bitch colony, israel. to blame union workers and unions is a joke. the eu stopped warring since 1945. the usa provoked russia since the fall of ussr. obama in ukraine with out cia is one little example. pax dumbfuckistan is crumbling. this happens.
They produce them in Mexico simply because of greed and unfettered capitalism.
You got this one wrong MISH.
So every time a company gets in trouble it’s because of a union? That’s not much of an argument.
I said why. Inflated assets / money supply / limitless deficit spending + pro-business healthcare and housing policy. American workers will be affordable when you make living in America affordable. What’s the mystery?
This will never happen because it requires actions that will lower asset prices, and the ownership class only likes assets going up.
But how can affordability coexist with assets only going up?
So, yes, I can spare you the sap, but the consequence is an overseas supply chain (and all the national security issues that come with it). We will keep paying workers in other countries, building up every country except our own, and middle america will continue to crumble. The essential local workers you can’t outsource and refuse to unionize will be subsidized through welfare funded by government deficit spending which will only further expand the money supply and further inflate assets, just the way the owners like it. If you don’t like that, don’t ask to be spared the sap because if that’s sap, it’s all I got.
Removing the tariffs just returns to this status quo. If you want an affordable domestic supply chain, the rich (who benefitted for so long off all this) must be taxed to pay to subsidize domestic materials and manufacturing.
American auto manufacturers make about 3% to 10% average on the cars that they build, that they are run by people who only care about their stock options has no bearing?
They build them in Mexico and Canada because they have no concerns for American workers or the public in general.
You overlook the fact that healthcare, housing and education are all massively overpriced because of poor laws and regulations. Instead of figuring out why they (and some other things) are expensive, the stock response of US politicians is to enable people to get bigger loans to pay for them!
That’s not what a Shop Steward at GM Local 199 told me.
Tits been said here before car manufactures do not want to make cheap cars because the profit margin is low. Same as builders dont want to make smaller houses.
Some safety stuff is sketchy. Every slip on an icee road and you’re trying to correct when the car starts fight you.
Want to make some safety improvements. Make it so you cant text and drive
Touch screens are incredibly difficult to use in challenging driving conditions like snowy/icy variable surface roads and anything curvy off of the freeways. Washboard dirt roads? No thank you touch screen… Vibration, moisture and dust kill the things and just try to find one for something that is 5-10 years old.
Analog switches and knobs offer tactile feedback without taking you eyes off the road. They work for decades.
My philosophy is that I should be driving, paying attention and not texting or playing with my navigation system or entertainment modules. There are deer, pedestrians, pets, cattle downed trees and a myriad of things to be aware of when driving away from the buffed cities of the south.
A friend has a +/- 2020 CorrectCraft water ski/ wakeboard boat. The touch screen went out and a replacement is not available. Therefore he has $200,000 stranded on his boat lift and cranky kids. Taking one of these things into salt water is akin to lighting it on fire!
So, what do I really think?
😉
Enjoy the Holliday!
the rich world problems always make me LOL. gobble gobble
Yeah i here ya on that happy tday
They have a touchscreen in the F-35. They took the radio knobs out to save weight, rationalizing it with (1) pilot can use voice recognition to change radio freqs and (2) pilot can use touchscreen. They learned that touchscreen requires way too much eyes-on time that radio knobs didn’t. And then they put the radio knobs back in, because, texting while flying is even dumber than texting while driving.
Ever skid on an icy road while texting?
we used to let our blind friend, a black blues musician drive in 70s nyc. instructing him when to turn and brake…….perhaps only going 15 or 20 mph in brooklyn
No but im pretty sure someones passed me before trying. i try set a good example for the kid on that one. I was saying new vehicles have traction control etc. so when you star to slide and your instincts kick in. The car will decide your doing things wrong and start to fight you. Scary.
I found this article very interesting in regard to levels of poverty and the ability to maintain a decent lifestyle.
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
“The U.S. poverty line is calculated as three times the cost of a minimum food diet in 1963, adjusted for inflation.”
I wanted to see what would happen if I ignored the official stats and simply calculated the cost of existing. I built a Basic Needs budget for a family of four (two earners, two kids). No vacations, no Netflix, no luxury. Just the “Participation Tickets” required to hold a job and raise kids in 2024.
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie – by Michael W. Green
I found the idea of “Participation Costs” to be very enlightening,
That’s an excellent link on the cost of participation.
Well done, thanks.
Thank you for this wonderful article.
It explains what is happening to our beleaguered middle class.
Excellent and thoughtful article. Stuff like this is why I spend valuable time here!
Pay raises are coming for my employees even if it eats into my margins. I’m not a greedy, blood sucking insurance company ~ so I can build my team to be strong and motivated.
I have found the daycare issue to be an easy solve in the farming family environment.
My foreman’s wife simply brings her family to the farm and cooks for everyone while managing the kids playcare, as I call it. All it took was one assistant wife, a room and interesting playground to make it all work.
Living in a city would be far more difficult to create this situation… Utah families participate in the “Free Range” kid management system fairly well. Mish must be able to see that down in St George.
Yes, there are squabbles and scrapes n bruises, but everyone here signs on to it as a fringe benefit.
Decently paid employees are probably cheaper in the long run. Once you factor in time training / turn over / hr cost and just less stress. Etc.
amerika is a scam run by grifters.
America is actually a great place to live. But yes presently it is run by a grifter. One that is about to get his ass kicked if he bullies Venezuela.
both of us are correct. the rich world from NZ to japan to eu and canada and usa and even downtown CDMX are wonderful places to live. modernity is luxurious. does NOT mean amerika is not an empire of warmongering empire of grifters and scam artists. amerika fuck yea.
Thanks for sharing. Some eye opening information right there.
Terrific article!
This article by Michael W.Green is riddled with assumptions that is disgrace coming from a financial expert.
Do tell then. Enlighten everyone with your take.
LOL! Never happen.
How about you do the same analysis without those incorrect assumptions…….didn’t think so.
Great Link. I do appreciate it!!!!
As I drive nothing but old beaters anyway, I see that most cars have so much digital deviltry and unservicable build that there will very few viable ones left for the likes of me. Well, I’m getting old and hope to keep this nice old Toyota until the bitter end.
Good list, Mish, but as for #6, if it was eliminated, there would be ZERO domestic car production. Everything would be imported for reasons 1-5.
What percentage of a car’s cost is due to safety related items? How much does each contribute to physical safety? How much of that contribution causes a reduction in auto insurance and how much? Absolutely none of these numbers will be discussed by the Senate. Why? Because they’re too stupid to ask and it doesn’t matter anyway, this is all political theater for the serfs: “we could cut prices by 90% if the left liberal lunatics didn’t want all this stupid safety!”. Note that Mish didn’t provide any numbers with his list either. So its all drivel.
The cost of insurance increases. The cost of repair has increased dramatically.
An added issue, do we really need a family sedan that goes 0 to 60 in 4 seconds and requires $500 tires?
Or 70k pickup trucks to drive to the store or office.
Your comment is mostly drivel. Average cost of American car is $50,000 at 90% reduction $5,000, even a cheap import is $25,000. Who can build any car for $5,000 with or without “stupid safety features”? Ok, you win, we just don’t want to drive a box car derby car, work isn’t downhill there and back.
I like your advice on this one Mish.
So, the answer to Americas inflation problems is to open it up further and flood the U.S. markets with foreign (Chinese) cars and parts. Bye, bye more U.S. industry.
This is the prescription we have been doing for 50+ years. Some of it is fine, but we’re way past that point… IMO it’s becoming a national security risk. Look at us scrambling for rare earths and magnets.
Mish, you forgot to add taxing capital gains at the same rate as wages so that companies will naturally evolve into funding Capital Invesrment, Wages, Profits, and Dividends rather than Stock Buybacks, Flipping Shares and Speculation. The Golden Goose of unearned income is dying, and those who survive off the Golden Goose are scared.
I would put an exception on “Unions” in your proposals. Unions can be excellent talent pools, can stop much of illegal immigration, can legally protect workers. Unfortunately they can also get corrupt and politically biased.
Global M2 is increasing. That leads to inflation. All things go up in price. Mish list is good but it just slows down price increases.
Some more ideas:
Reduce U.S. Government debt
Reduce Global Government debt
Okay. Maybe slow down debt printing. That won’t happen. Who am I kidding
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TOKYO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet approved a 21.3 trillion yen ($135.40 billion) economic stimulus package on Friday, marking the first major policy initiative under the new leader, who has pledged to pursue expansionary fiscal measures.
The package includes general account outlays of 17.7 trillion yen, far exceeding the previous year’s 13.9 trillion yen and representing the largest stimulus since the COVID pandemic. It will also include 2.7 trillion yen in tax cuts.
——————————————
US is weighing $2,000 stimulus checks as the Fed ends QT on December 1. Treasury issuance stays near $1.9 trillion a year. China has approved a $1.4 trillion local-debt package. Japan is preparing a $110 billion stimulus plan. Canada is restarting QE through Treasury-bill purchases. Global M2 is at a record $137 trillion. Central banks have delivered more than 320 rate cuts in 24 months. Liquidity is rising everywhere. Fiscal spending is expanding fast. Debt levels are climbing. The setup strong ..
Do all of that and implement a 50% Discount/Rebate policy at retail sale and you’ll rejuvenate profit-making economic systems, re-align them ethically and have the beginning of a greater political coalition than The New Deal…because the truest of political truisms namely “people vote their pocketbooks” IS true. And all you have to do is use the incredible tool of double entry bookkeeping and change a single concept to make it a temporal universe reality.
The problem with all the safety junk is that they rely on cheap Chinese sensors. My “American” Ford had a seat belt sensor go out. That disables the airbag sensor. The whole stupid car is a domino theory in action when one dumb .99cent sensor goes out. My Ford constantly get recalls for back up camera firmware, sensor blow outs, stupid auto stop(MPG mandates) battery errors. It’s sad.
I mean, if a car seat has a kid in it the car seat would be the vector to have the sensor in it.
The car seat app connected via BLE would see location of phone and driver.
Why does the car need this lowest common denominator ability because a half dozen idiots left their kids in the car
I’ve thought about the kids left in cars problem and I think the best answer lies in the technology that’s already there. Seatbelts already have a sensor that knows when the seatbelt is latched. With an additional connection this can be incorporated into child safety seats where the child’s restraint is also detected. Then make some logic that alarms if the child’s harness is still latched after driving and the car is turned off.
Or the rear car windows open when the car is turned off.
Some children may survive.
Mish, why did you not put Usary on your list of concerns. It is the number one cost influencer for people.
Vehicles were overpriced before Trump tariffs thanks in part to needless complexity. Costly government standards decreed by bureaurats with no real world experience is another big problem.
Mish, I don’t understand why you didn’t put FOMO speculative greedy shareholders at the bottom of your list. Which includes the corporate executives with share-buyback sensitive options.
TINA2FOMO
The higher the price for a car or house or food or doctor, the more serfs must work to fund it.
Seems like a dishonest, imperfect form of birth control. A few steps away from those “calorie controls” on Gaza.
We could discuss limits to growth and a one-child policy. But that sets people’s hair on fire. Ergo, the indirect approach.
Many (most) of my young friends do not want children. They see the cost of raising a child and know it is not doable. These young adults also have student loan debt.
The real culprit (besides the tariffs) is the insanity of infotainment systems.
An M61 Vulcan mount will be more of a necessity going forward.
Everything is expensive in USA for the serfs partly because a significant portion of our capable workforce spends its time on non-productive tasks like:
– wars, overseas bases
– weaponizing EVERYTHING
– trading
And when there’s corruption, the culprits can’t be investigated and penalised strongly because “national security”.
If you’re in these fields, you can keep your head above water and maybe even swim all the way to a luxurious getaway like Epstein Island. But you do it partly by buoying yourself on your fellow citizens.
https://www.independent.org/article/2007/03/15/the-trillion-dollar-defense-budget-is-already-here
2007!!
What is it now? Double or triple?
Hi Mish.
What did former Governor of Illinois George Ryan go to prison for while he was Secretary of State?
Wow. Imagine getting a top law firm to defend you “pro bono”. That implies “subsidized by the firms billings elsewhere”. (Guess who has that honor.)
“Ryan’s defense was provided pro bono by Winston & Strawn, a law firm managed by former governor Jim Thompson. The defense cost the firm $10 million through mid-November 2005.[49] Estimates of the cost to the firm as of September 2006 ranged as high as $20 million. … Bush did not commute Ryan’s sentence.”
I hated Dubya. But good on him for that. I’m pretty sure we kept going downhill since. If only Ryan’s firm had given Biden or Trump something like $5m, they could’ve saved $20m and won a commutation.
Maybe we should outsource our government from Mexico, China and South Korea, imagine the money we could save!
I so agree. The R’s and D’s harm the serfs almost without fail.
No kidding. My local town was planning on eliminating our utility billing department and sending it to a private firm to save money. I wrote to our commissioners that we should be concerned with employing our local residents. I mentioned that we could save a ton of money by outsourcing all of duties of our elected officials! We ended up keeping our own billing department in town.
robots are a better option.
Good ideas!
Thankful for your and my health this Thanksgiving.
A few years ago I bought a GMC Sierra manufactured in Mexico. I wonder why GM did not give me a discount considering it was manufactured by non union labor and current tariffs were not involved but yet there it was priced just the same as a USA manufactured truck? Somehow I think there is more to this situation than Trump’s tariffs.
Imported trucks have long had a 25% tariff. Part of why they are pricey compared to relatively comparable cars .
Then why, per my original post, was the truck’s priced the same as a USA manufactured identical item?
Why wouldn’t it be? It cost less to make. The tariff closed the gap somewhat.
To discuss it further, wouldn’t we really need to know much more detail about GM’s real internal costs? Even then, I bet their accountants disagreed over details.
In the “business schools” here a half century ago they called it “the Maquiladora”.
It’s all about Oceania oligarch profits. They need tariffs now because Chinese manufacturers have been building brands to sell directly to Oceania consumers, cutting out the Oceania oligarchs, and reducing their purchases of eventually worthless Oceania IOU’s.
Similar to Japan in the 80’s? Not really. Japan remains occupied. China isn’t. So, a “plaza accord” and other unilateral “rules-based order” are harder.
Metal bumpers and fewer plastic components would reduce repair costs. Adaptive cruise control and radar-driven safety features needing to be re-calibrated whenever the plastic bumper cover is damaged adds a lot to repair bills.
The best way to reduce insurance costs would be for motorists to take driving more seriously and have it be more difficult to earn/keep a driver’s license, but that doesn’t seem likely.
“have it be more difficult to earn/keep a driver’s license, but that doesn’t seem likely.”
Imagine a world with 80+ million boomers all refusing to give up their drivers license as they become more and more mentally diminished as they age.
There are stories like the one in the link below almost every week and it will only get worse over the next decade. Expect insurance rates to sky rocket. It’s part of the demographic disaster that’s coming.
https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/video/elderly-couple-recovering-after-car-crashes-through-glen-burnie-medical-office/
My own father was one of those stubborn people. he drove 50+ years and never crashed until he hit 76 then crashed twice in one year. He refused to give up his drivers license even though we all knew he shouldn’t be driving anymore. He also got lost on the road a few times.
Every week.
https://kjzz.com/news/local/car-crashes-into-murray-building-after-driver-confuses-pedals
My Father was as well, until He hit the Garage and Electrical Box both! Expensive repair, and strongly suggested he consider NOT driving anymore. Not sure if another scare occurred, but a couple months later, He turned his license in, TG!!
All their friend’s drive that can, or think so anyway. This is a problem, and as you say “Baby Boomers” and the Millions coming to a road near you… I personally know a handful of drivers 85-90.
My dad drove until his late 80’s. He couldn’t stay in lane. One of my siblings managed to talk sense into him.
… Won’t someone convince our various octogenarians to stop running for office?
Sorry to hear that – it’s a struggle when the person doesn’t have self-awareness and is physically capable of driving. A lot of families rely on ‘the state’ to pull a license, but DVS driver evaluations are just a moment in time and it isn’t difficult for someone to appear capable/competent in that moment.
Driving into a building or the wrong way on a freeway or unintentionally ending up hundreds of miles from home — a lot of ways it goes bad and most of them don’t make the evening news.
When I started to have small strokes, I stopped driving. No way did I want to take the chance that I would hurt someone. Age 68. We do live very close to a light rail station and have good bus service.
smart and very decent move. i concur. will be giving up my license when i turn 70 regardless of health. so far, so good.
Car insurance ratings and cost have several components, including “UM” and “UIM”. Wonder why those have gone up so much the past few years?
I goggled “average labor cost per US new vehicle” and AI told me it’s $1,341. I don’t know if that’s right, obviously. If it is, cutting it in half would save $670. I have to think the over-gadgeting of vehicles adds at least as much, especially when you add in all the additional engineering and HR costs.
They say farm labor only accounts for 10% of retail vegetable costs, yet people scream that doubling farm wages to attract domestic workers instead of hiring illegals would double produce costs. If you do the math a vegetable priced at a dollar has 10 cents of farm labor cost. Doubling labor cost would add another 10 cents making the cucumber cost $1.10. Union organizer CEASAR CHAVEZ was right,….CLOSE THE BORDER!!!! He knew wages would not improve for farm workers when Americans have to compete against exploited workers from other countries.
Any “solution” that involves cutting wages for US workers is no solution at all! Union wages can hardly be a cause since there was a much higher percentage of union workers back in “the good old days “
People don’t understand or know the level of ripoff Americans endure until you travel overseas or have friends/family that move overseas and tell you how cheap cars, healthcare, insurance (auto), and food is elsewhere.
I doubt any politician will fix any of these problems anytime soon. It’ll just be more specialized favoritism graft for various corporate donors while Americans suffer into oblivion.
Got exit strategy?
And the food is not only cheaper but also better tasting because they don’t have huge agro-businesses controlling the food supply chain.
Agree with Mish on this one.
Step 1: Eliminate all tariffs on inputs such as steel, aluminum, copper, auto parts etc. in order to lower production costs
Step 2: Phase out tariffs on all auto imports over a 3-5 year period which gives domestic production time to adapt
Step 3: Require a high percentage of each automaker’s production (80%) to have a comprehensive list of safety features for all vehicles sold in the US. We already have too many auto deaths.
Step 4: Allow each automaker to choose what safety feature they wish to add to the remaining 20% of production. This allows for ultra low cost autos for those willing to drive them.
A dead battery would be huge safety feature. Nobody knows how to use jumper cables.
Nobody wants to lend their car for such.
Europeans here in Portugal are SUPER TDS and it is getting old. I hate politics GENERALLY and a pal from Germany is now pissed off at me for saying: “T, I do not want to listen to this shit about Trump or Biden or anyone in US Politics.”
He whispered to a pal, who is German, too that T was calling me an idiot for pushing back. T and I will not be hanging out together any more. I am sick to death of politics here and at Home.
The media over there seems to be using Trump to scare Europeons into funding “their own” military, ignoring the likelihood it remains out of their control anyway. Been this way since 2017.
Super TDS. That’s great. Must be an amazing place to live.
We bought a brand new Subaru Forester Limited last year. It is FULL OF SHIT that we do not want, need, or like. The heads-up screen is downright dangerous compared to TOUCH AND FEEL KNOBS. Pretty much everything is menu driven so I often take my eyes off of the road to turn down a fan speed. There are audible controls for much of it.
ONE BIG THING: it has an ENGINE AUTO-OFF feature which disables the engine and re-starts are stop lights. IT IS RIDICULOUS.
I understand CYLINDER WASH DOWN from re-injecting fuel on each start-up which leads to premature ring wear. We disable the feature.
Subaru announced that this stupid feature, aimed at saving fuel, will be removed in up-coming year. If you want it permanently disabled, you have to pay over a hundred bucks for a module. FUCKERS!
Turning off an engine at every light saves NO fuel. It is bullshit and liberal-think!
Those aren’t John McNamara’s Ford Falcon Wiz Kids designing the current infotainment junk baubles!
To your last point, there must be a government handout / grift involved as to the reason so many of those vehicles are found at Enterprise and other car rentals.
I have not seen a Subaru at a rental Place, and we looked for a 4-wheel Drive Subaru SUV. The Forester pulls through deep snow like a Banshee.
My 2018 F150 has the auto stop/start but luckily there is a button that will disengage it (assuming I remember after starting up). Just a safety FYI – if you are making a turn in traffic and while waiting the engine goes off, your power steering will not come back the instant you hit the gas (and it restarts). Potentially dangerous if you are trying to cross in a tight window.
Yes, we hit the button every time we start it but every so often, distraction (OLD MIND NOW, losing it): I forget and what is really strange is that it shuts down WITH THE A/C running and lights on, which takes the surface charge from the Battery. It is an awful idea and Subaru announced that due to POPULAR-NO-DEMAND, they are removing the feature in 2026 Models.
David – I also have a Subaru and the engine shutoff only engages when I press down on the brake hard while stopped. “Normal” pressure to stop the car at a light and the engine stays idling. FWIW and it may be different for your year/make but may be worth a try.
Hi, Dude, you know you may be right, but in the first week, it seemed to be engaging in town at every light. So, we just turn it off with the “A BUTTON” located in the Heads-up Display. I should also mention that the Forester (2025 model) is really nice, and the interior is TALL and the windows are tall and I am tall so I am really comfy. The LEG room for me is the best since my Toyota Supra Turbo Days which had long cockpit legroom.
According to the SAE:
Depending on driving conditions, the fuel economy improvements of the start/stop function were between 7.27 and 26.4 percent in fuel use during testing, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
“If you’re constantly on the highway and the engine never shuts off, the fuel savings is going to be much lower,” says Alex Knizek, associate director, auto test development at Consumer Reports. “But if you’re doing a lot of city driving with frequent idling, there is a legitimate reduction in fuel use with start/stop technology.” Depending on driving conditions, the fuel economy improvements of the start/stop function were between 7.27 and 26.4 percent in fuel use during testing, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
Not saying I agree or not, because I don’t have all the data in front of me, but it appears as though there is a fairly significant difference, and therefore a cost savings indeed..
BUT, BUT, I repeat: turning off an engine causes OIL DRAIN back into the Pan. And re-starting then will cause Piston Ring Fuel wash-down Scrub, leading to oil consumption later.
My Dad was a first-rate mechanic, so I have done my own Car repairs since 1970 (I had a piece of Shit ’62 Chevy with a bad head gasket and I Fixed that myself when I ran away from home at 17).
I understand engines well.
You’re the one who bought it though
Maybe I’m old fashioned but it seems stupid to buy a car you hate
Phil, when you buy a new Car, you get a test ride. The Manual is a BIBLE. There are so many bells and whistles in the heads-up display that it took me a week to find all of that shit.
So, your point is well taken but I would bet you would drive one and like it and say to yourself: “I will read the full manual Later.”
But, then again, you may be a genius that just knows it ALL.
The law of diminishing returns to a factor comes into play. Per mile driven, we are hitting the point where additional safety features don’t do much. We are probably better off focusing on how to make streets safer for pedestrians. The improvements to the cars themselves probably won’t have much of an impact. Another rare point of agreement with the author. Figuring out mass transit wouldn’t hurt either. At some point, we will have to.
The majority of consumers want features. Okay, but some of us want a simpler version. I like auto transmission and steering. I do not like auto windows, keyless driving, and all the computerized stuff on the dash. How about selling stripped down versions that cost less? Some of us consumers would like that.
The Computerized dash is stupid. It is HARDER To use than Knobs.
First thing I have to do is put on my reading glasses. Worst car I ever owned was an Audi. Everything was numeric in 7 point font. Heated seats were fine, but if I dropped my glasses I couldn’t turn it off and burned my ass off.
What do you dummies do, order your car off the Internet? Why would you buy a car you hate?
It was bought used for the kids to drive. I didn’t drive it much. Any other questions?
Phil has one oar in the water with his inane comments.
You can’t escape all the crap anymore. It’s on every single new US car.
Well, that made me laugh!! My vw has those seats. I thought people were joking about having their ass on fire till I tried the heated seat feature. Not a fan of them, either.
These senators are doing what politicians do. Posing that they care, shift all blame onto anybody besides themselves and make sure they stay in power. Vote them ALL out, including the ones in your own party.
You are correct, Jeff. As if Cars are the number one priority versus health care costs and WAR costs. These fuckers have to go. BUT, they will NOT!
I must say, after reading the article, and then the suggestions by Mish, and His suggestions are “On Target” I do believe!
Mish Suggestion:
– End all the tariffs on steel, aluminum, parts, and vehicles. > That’s a great start!
– Remove all import restrictions and let Toyota and BYD import as many cars as they can sell. > A great accompanying thought, as long as “National Security” is not put at risk.
– Prices will drop. > 100% Certainty!
> Sometimes it’s OK to allow someone else (China here) to do something your know you can do too, but maybe just not as well for various reasons. As Mish points out, China has Decades of Experience and knowledge that we just don’t have in this particular area. Why try to replicate if we can just purchase. I must reiterate however, with the electronics, surveillance and other factors we may not even know about, being possible, “National Security” is indeed a concern of mine!
>> We will never come close to Manpower Cost of China. With our Unions specifically, it’s hard to be competitive with just about all meaningful Countries, when you’re discussing Labor Cost. So it looks like Unions must Come Down in pay, or we Must Buy Abroad. I see no other viable solution… and Our Competitors See This as well!!
“the electronics, surveillance and other factors we may not even know about, being possible, “National Security” is indeed a concern”
Wouldn’t want the Chinese to know I’m driving down an overcrowded and potholed interstate. They might start sending road construction crews to the US so our average interstate cost drops below $7M per mile.
I would be more worried they decide they don’t like some policy and brick all their built cars to show us what they can do
I get the feeling they would not be that short sighted. But I guess that could be a possibility so no military vehicles from China.
Cute, but I am serious. Tech is now beyond the scope of what most can imagine…
It’s probably going to get a lot worse.
Build Your Dream or BYD as it s known, has a large and growing market share in Europe. I saw quite a few of them on a recent trip to France and Italy. I did not drive one but did chat up a couple drivers of these attractive cars and they loved them!
Musk really pissed the European buyers off when he supported Trump. There are political signs at train stations that say. “Tesla ~ Zero to 1939 in 3 Seconds”.
Ford’s Farley is correct and our manufacturers are playing catch-up!
Handicapped by Trumps tariffs on their raw materials and deprived ov access to low cost labor? They stand little chance of doing so.
Elections have consequenses.
>>>
I drove one (BYD) in Brazil earlier this year Seemed like a great vehicle
the euros are very cognizant of cults of personalities, and fascists, like trump and musk……..as an italian citizen, born and raised in NYC area…….i always called amerika’s mayor, benito giuliani. when i saw trump in 2015, i remarked to my pals he really was channeling Benito. the sad thing is, that democracy works. the amerikan people have become fascists and seem to love our warmongering worldwide ways for the past 50 years. bombs away. and gobble gobble
The Squeegee Guys were making an honest living.
@bmcc…What did you do? Give up your US citizenship? You said you were born in NYC
nah. just got italian citizenship in adulthood. as a backup plan for family. lots of goodies over there. their gov is very transparent about telling new citizens about the free shit army there. quite funny. and 1/3 of italian wages……and savings under the table. the way it should be here. imho.
The Europeans are preparing for Vlad to cross the Rhine on his way to Big Ben.
…while they simultaneously mock Russia for a “stalemate after 4 years”.
Americans are far behind the curve adopting evs. We’re increasingly at a competitive disadvantage on multiple levels as a result.
Antilock brakes and air brakes were the last cost effective safety features. Backup camera systems are needed only for large vehicles with blind spots, but compact cars are required to have them installed. The infotainment system becomes technologically obsolete well before the mechanics of the vehicle can no longer be repaired. Remote vehicle shut off and door locks are hackable. A former coworker described being unable to drive his car after the collision warning system determined a false obstruction.
To lower car prices let’s make these features a-la-carte instead of mandatory. Even though the list of input costs are much greater, the momentum shift is easier to start by reducing some electronics.
While this sounds good, the cost difference is almost exclusively “In Labor” and when our Competitors can deliver all the goodies and more, and still be less costly, how do we beat that? We can’t.
Union Cost (entirety of) stop America from being competitive in Labor 100% with All Worldly Competitors. We can only try to compete in that area, if we either did away with Unions Or Restructure their pay and benefits, by shifting most of the. Cost to the Workers. I know it’s crazy talk to many, but I’m trying to be realistic here…
Cutting wages will implode the economy nicely.
Exporting labor overseas wrecked the middle class already. How do you expect to pay for all these wonderful imports? Selling cat videos and superhero movies overseas?
– Cutting wages will implode the economy nicely.
> Um, these are not your $20.00 PH Jobs we’re talking about. The upper crust in many cases. Maybe some stall on very high end products, second homes and the like, but not for every day life items.
>> Ford Motor Company Employees make around $75.00 PH for an example. Here are some other examples of $75.00 PH Jobs: Corporate Video Writer, RN’s in Emergency Rooms, Museum Curators, Lawyers, Dentist, Pilot, Anesthesiologist, etc…
For auto workers $75 per hour is the package price and includes benefits. Their take home is substantially less.
Absolutely! It’s the “True Cost” of each Employee. I have friend’s and family members in 3 of the professions I listed, and they are all doing quite well. Not home a lot, and cherish there vacations.
I failed to mention, “Take Home Pay” is where the Money comes from, for you to Pay Your Cost With.
Medical Cost are huge, but Covered not so much. The covered part is the “Take Home Pay” you idiot have to use to pay it yourself.
Much easier to offshore.
Absolutely, as I believe Frosty pointed out earlier, in reference to the BYD!
tax on manufacturing, parts, why tax the real estate for the factories? transportation advertisng on and on”’
”paying the senate tax money = to discuss taxes on industry== just get a mirror and put it on the table
DISCUSS THAT EH ?
If a factory cannot pay its local and state real estate taxes, that company belongs in China.
I have a suggestion: Car makers should make basic cars.
I would pay extra for a car with roll up windows, manual doors, no computers anywhere except for those related to engine efficiency, and a manual transmission.
That would greatly reduce the cost of owning a car not only in initial purchase costs but in maintenance.
I don’t want or need all of the bells and whistles cars have today. I just want a basic car which you can no longer buy unless it’s a foreign car.