Obama to lend $8 billion to Ford, Nissan and Tesla to build green cars

The US isn't and has never required taxes on gas to do anything.

If we cut a fraction out of our military budget we could easily maintain the US in (at the very absolutely positively least) Education and Health.

Anyone who makes you think that we NEED all the taxes we have is bullshitting you to the highest degree.

The US Military is the most bloated monopoly to ever exist in the US. Almost none of the money makes it into the pockets of soldiers or into their care, many of the most expensive projects not only have no modern purpose but their application would serve no rational purpose for at least another half century.

Then take the whole maintaining of enough nuclear weaponry to eliminate every single living person on the surface of the earth.

OMG, you cannot be serious. What are you using for your intellectual resources? My Lord how you have been brainwashed and that is not an insult, that is a mere fact when you state the US doesn't rely on gas tax to do anything.

Uh - the Federal Government imposes the highest percentage of taxes on EACH GALLON of gas you use. So do states and local governments.

Big bad oil only makes 9% profit worldwide and the US government makes twice if not triple that on EACH GALLON of gas. The federal government gets at least 27% tax on a GALLON of gas.

Here, let me educate you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_tax

Google "gas tax", "fuel tax" and be enlightened that the US federal government needs this revenue.

More recently, Oregon is in a pickle because they are losing revenue from the gas taxes. Yes, those SUV's are patriotic - they pay premium tax on each tank of gas they suck up. Oregon has considered taxing MILES DRIVEN to make up for the lost revenue and actually, with GPS, they can watch you - now how they would execute that system is a mystery although I believe they'd have to expand government to collect and enforce the revenue from the MILES YOU DRIVE.

However, the little eco cars are not patriotic at all - they do not add to the revenue of the states since they get so many miles per gallon and therefore use less gas creating less revenue.

The solution for unpatriotic little cars? Higher taxes for you.

you know, you may have something there.

if there is going to be government run healthcare, why not government run auto-repair?

I think we should tax the rich so they can pay for the head gasket I need replaced, not to mention the tires that are wearing out, and HELL why not throw in a fancy new stereo and navigation system?

That's not exactly what I meant.

I meant more like restructuring the transportation infrustructure entirely. Get rid of most automobiles and develop public transit systems. What kind of wasteful, idiotic culture are we living in where each individual needs their very own automobile?

You may have something there.

He's "hipmotized"

Depends upon the terms....For example, if we (US) owns all the rights to any and all IP, then it might be a great deal...who knows...how can you do any evaluation w/o more information.

GM took the money and spent it in Brazil................

It helps our economy by having Americans spend less on foreign oil and more on American products. Why spend money on gasoline when I can pay off home loans, student loans, and the like.

I'm sorry, I thought Tesla was based out of California?

Exactly. I want a model S so baaaaad! Can't afford it though. :(

Yeah, Obama sure loves spending money for some reason.

Hyperinflaction from $8 billion? You don't know what you are talking about. With a GDP around $14 trillion, $8 billion is a drop in the bucket.

Plus, its a loan. You know what happens with loans? People pay them back, with interest. So you make money. People have been doing it for thousands of years.

You know what happens when you loan out 8 billion? You never see it again, ie China.

Pretty sure China hasn't put out $8 billion loan to those car companies that they defaulted on.

You don't get it. Youre not thinking long term. Any ADDITION to how much we have to pay back, which we're not going to do except by creating the money out of nothing, which devalues the dollar, which in turn raises prices. We don't need to be borrowing ANY more money at all. In fact, what we need to be doing is reducing government spending so prices won't go as high.

Hyperinflation?

Hardly. Milton Freedman was scared to death of inflation, but his "free-market" policies consistently have resulted in higher unemployment and higher inflation.

Keynesian Developmentalist economics have also been tested in the real world, and consistently have worked.

Freedman's free-market approach has consistently failed.

You figure it out.

Show me where free market policies have resulted in higher unemployment and higher wages.

Because so far in US History that's what Keynesian policy has done and free market has been what pulled us out of the depressions we've had.

First Rockstar, we aren't paying it back. They are. Its a loan from the government to the companies.

Second, free market has solved crises? Like the Great Depression? Because I'm pretty sure that isn't what happened. We got out of that one because the government employed people (New Deal, then the Army), created a new workforce (women) and improved infrastructure (CCC etc. and revamping the industrial sector). Nice try though.

Pretty sure they have loaned the US way more than that, but they're never gonna see it again.

"Show me where free market policies have resulted in higher unemployment and higher wages."

Okay...

Argentina. Indonesia. Poland. Chile. Bolivia. Columbia. Venezuela. South Africa. Brazil. England. The USA under Reagan.

These nations are all held up as examples in support of Freedman's chicago school free-market style of economics, but it's revisionist history. These economies didn't turn around until Keynesian developmentalist policies were put in place.
I could go on if you'd like?

fireater,

When the government pays for it by creating money out of thin air they add to the money supply and that decreases the value of our dollar so yes, WE pay for in in inflation tax.

Let's see, the free market solved the depressions of 1837, 1907, 1921 and 1929 after Keynesian policy put us there through artificial easy credit policy. Laissez-faire/free market policies is what turned it around after Keynesian policy made it worse. For the Great Depression, which Keynesian policies of Harding and Coolidge of easy credit created the bubble that popped by increasing the money supply 61%, which causes the boom-and-bust cycles and that Hoover and Roosevelt continued making it worse and longer through artificially pushing wages up above what was justified by labor productivity, the end result was higher unemployement, high protectionist tariffs, which benefited the manufacturers who financially supported the party, but through the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill caused us to lose 83% of our exports.

Contrary to revisionist history, Roosevelt made the great depression worse by many things including propping up prices, which reduces the demand for labor, which creates more unemployment. The average unemployment rate from 1929-1940 was 17%. 1940 was 14.6%, so Roosevelt hardly helped the depression. After WWII ended and a massive REDUCTION in government expenditures and employment occured. It wasn't until wartime economic controls were ended and government spending and employment levels fell dramatically, that prosperity was restored. Federal govt expenditures fell from $98 billion to $33 billion by 1948 the first full year of recovery. Keynesian economists expected a two-thirst reduction in government spending to lead to another depression, but they were dead wrong. With the price controls and rationing schemes of the war years mostly out of the way, and the dramatic reduction in government spending, the private economy quickly recovered. When private-sector production increased that's when we finally got out of the depression. Roosevelts first New Deal was such a debacle that in early 1935 the US supreme court ruled it unconstitutional. Most of the abnormal unemployment of the 1930's would have been avoided had it not been for the New Deal. The Great Depression was very significantly prolonged in both its duration and its magnitude by the impact of New Deal programs. It is impossible for government spending to create prosperity; only production can creat prosperity. When the government creates jobs it takes away from the private sector and then we can't produce as much, which prolongs depressions. So, don't try coming at me (and everyone else) with your Keynesian solutions when they've always put us in bad situations, made it worse and kept us there until free-market capitalism was allowed to work.

And asherp Argentina. Indonesia. Poland. Chile. Bolivia. Columbia. Venezuela. South Africa. Brazil. England all serve as an example of Keynesian policies not working until free market came in turned things around. done.

rockstar is right, fireeater you don't know your history.

Until Obama was elected, FDR was the closest thing to a fascist this country has ever known. We even amended the constitution after his presidency to avoid anymore extended presidencies and too much concentration of power.

But it won't be his name in the check, will it?