Re: theWatt Podcast 77

I'm not who is arguing GM, McDonald's, and Wal-Mart are evil. They are profit-maximizers though and their interests can diverge greatly from what is best for the communities of people they touch. So when they have disproportionate power to shape policy, I guess some call them evil. Probably more accurate to say we are too lazy as citizens who should demand reforms over corporate control of politicians.

You are absolutely right about law of unintended consequences and policymakers need to be careful and revise policy frequently to fix problems like that. But let's be clear about who is often influential in writing legislation - the industries that are impacted - which means not all the consequences are unintended.

The rise of SUVs was not just a matter of people switching from station wagons - the auto companies have heavily marketed SUVs to women who are insecure about their driving skills. I find this hilarious, but I read an article talking about all the focus groups they use and such to refine their messages and make the larger vehicles appealing. So there are many factors, which none of us are denying.

For moving forward, I think we should scrap things like CAFE and do a better job of using tax policy to encourage / discourage vehicles with different capabilities.