Bruce Yandle says CAFE Regulation is a Sham and a Shame

Bruce Yandle writes wisely. Here are two nuggets.

1. CAFE standards imposed in the 1970's had the unintended consequence of increasing demand for SUVs and light trucks.
2. "instead of overhauling the aging fuel efficiency apparatus—perhaps even moving to a straightforward tax on carbon emissions—politicians added more ornaments to the fuel economy Christmas tree." ... "Now we're left with a maze of regulations and rules that I doubt anyone can fully explain. The industrial organization that results is so opaque that no one can tell what anything really costs when factoring for the credits, subsidies, or tax breaks paid for or enjoyed by all involved."
3. "Why not wipe the slate clean, support carbon and other offset markets to reduce undesirable emissions, and let the chips fall where they may? It may take time, but customers and automakers can respond more effectively than the regulatory state has."

The Administrative State is a Sham and a Shame

Using regulation to achieve ends not intended when legislators passed a law is increasing. Revising regulations allows the Executive Branch to exercise unprecedented control over the economy and personal liberties WITHOUT the bother of getting a majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Moreover, costs of many of the revisions will substantially exceed their benefits.

This recent opinion by the Editorial Board of the WSJ identifies a recent onslaught of new and proposed regulations.

1. "The Transportation Department on Friday proposed a 696-page rule raising corporate average fuel economy (Cafe) standards that would effectively require 100% of new cars to be electric by 2032." ... "The Administration claims the proposal will reduce CO2 emissions through 2050 by 885 million metric tons—about half as much as Canada’s wildfires are projected to release this year."
2. "The Administration on Friday also proposed a 236-page revision to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidelines that will require federal agencies to consider climate change and “environmental justice” in project reviews. If a utility wants to build a gas pipeline, agencies might have to evaluate if a solar plant would better promote environmental justice, however regulators define it."
3. "The Administration is also quietly using collusive legal settlements with green groups to end-run judicial review of rules—a practice known as “sue and settle.”
4. "Last week Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler jammed through a rule requiring public companies to disclose to investors cyber-security breaches within four days of discovering them—no matter if they are still trying to repair their systems." ... "the unprecedented rule could 'tell successful attackers when the company finds out about the attack, what the company knows about it, and what the financial fallout is likely to be (i.e., how much ransom the attacker can get)' and 'will signal to other would-be attackers an opportune time to attack.'”
5. "the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a quasi-private entity overseen by the SEC, in June proposed rules that would vastly expand the remit of auditors under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act."