When Politicians Pick Winners
Eurointelligence has a warning that also applies to President Biden on what happens When Europeans Pick Winners, emphasis mine.
The geezers amongst us will recall that Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterrand had a pet project, besides the bigger political achievements they are both remembered for. This was high-definition television, a project they jointly pushed for in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They wanted consumers to have tangible benefits from the then-new single market. We see parallels to today’s debate about technological neutrality in green policies in Europe. Back then, the Europeans, together with the Japanese, bet on the wrong technology. Their version of HDTV would have been the last hoorah of the analogue television age. Mercifully, that project died a quiet death.
HDTV is a cautionary tale for politicians who think they understand technology. At the time, the Europeans were still overawed by their own success in creating Airbus as a viable competitor to Boeing. But Airbus turned out to be the exception, not the rule. There has never been anything like it since.
The prevailing future technology for home central heating systems, or that of motor cars, is sufficiently unknown at this point to make any firm predictions. There are car makers, like BMW, which have bet on hydrogen. Others, like VW, see the future as all electric. The controversial German domestic heating legislation is technologically neutral in theory, but tweaked in such a way that only heating pumps fulfil the criteria. Our European record of spotting technological winners is not great. Airbus succeeded because it broke a monopoly. It was a mature technology. Europeans had the engineering know-how. That is not the case here. We are dealing with technologies that have yet to be developed. Would we still want to plaster a large portion of our countryside with windmills, 2% in the case of Germany, if there is a breakthrough in the development of nuclear fusion reactors?
We also have our doubts about Horizon, the EU’s research programme. It is the world’s largest transnational research programme, and yet the EU is a technological laggard in an increasing number of 21st century technologies. It has elements of a pork barrel project for academics.
Pork Barrel Projects for Academics
That is what it all boils down to. We have government-sponsored climate change solutions in the US and EU where the mandates greatly exceed the available technologies.
Nonetheless we are marching forward, demanding more from technologies than they can possibly deliver.
One not so humorous result is dirty dishes in the US because the dishwashers don’t work. And who doesn’t routinely flush the toilet twice because of water restrictions that are not even necessary in most of the country?
Despite the obvious failures, Biden marches on. The EU, fortunately, is having second thoughts.
Germany is Turning Against the EU’s Green New Deal, Common Sense to the Forefront
Fresh on the heels of a sensible request by France to pause new green regulations comes an even stronger pushback in Germany.
For discussion, please see Germany is Turning Against the EU’s Green New Deal, Common Sense to the Forefront
A Big Green Mess in Germany With Coal a Stunning 31 Percent of Electricity
Also recall my January 21 post A Big Green Mess in Germany With Coal a Stunning 31 Percent of Electricity.
The absurd effort to get off natural gas immediately in Germany led to a stunning revival of coal. How stupid is that?
It remains to be seen if EU nannycrats can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by ignoring the pushbacks against green energy mandates in Germany and the Netherlands.
But in the US, it is 100% full steam ahead by the Biden administration.
I will have more on the economic and environmental damage with one such push by the admiration tomorrow, but here are some things I have covered already.
Biden’s Dirty Dish Deal
Will dishwashers in the US even work? That seemingly silly question is anything but silly.
Please consider the The Federal Dirty Dish Rule
Last week the Energy Department dropped a sweeping proposal for “efficiency” mandates on dishwashers. Did you enjoy last night’s spaghetti, still crusted on the plate? Now you can taste it twice.
The proposal requires manufacturers to slash water use by a third, limiting machines to 3.2 gallons per cycle, down from the current federal limit of five gallons. New appliances must simultaneously cut estimated annual energy usage by nearly 30%.
Machines can only meet much higher efficiency standards by recirculating water in longer cycles, meaning run times of two or three hours. Yet if the dishes aren’t clean, owners run them again, undermining the argument about conservation.
The Energy Department plan gives manufacturers only until 2027 to produce the miracle of costlier washers that do a worse job. There are also new regulations for electric motors used in manufacturing, as well as beverage vending machines.
In recent months the Energy Department has proposed or finalized punishing new standards for ovens, microwaves, refrigerators and laundry machines (get ready for even moldier clothing). These come on top of rules for furnaces, air conditioners, and lightbulbs.
Pay More For Less Performance
Everything Biden does adds inflation pressures.
Note The Inflation Reduction Act Price Jumps From $385 Billion to Over $1 Trillion
Expect more of the same when Biden tries to impose a “just transition” to EVs.
And if you missed it, please see Hoot of the Day: The UAW Demands a “Just Transition” to Electric Vehicles
Setting goals too high while simultaneously picking winners is a road to ruin. But that is the current inflationary path.
The sooner a green backlash starts in the US the better. But the damage is mounting. More coming up.
This post originated on MishTalk.Com.
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