Arguably the most common item that is owned by the masses is a car or some sort of vehicle. And the one thing that all of these vehicles have in common is that they run on fuel. Last Monday the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency released a new set of protocols that the car manufacturers must follow to lessen the amount of pollution that is put into the air as a result of the usage of the fuels. The pollution caused by the usage of cars causes as many as 610 deaths a year. These new standards that were unveiled state that “The final standards are expected to provide up to 13 dollars in health benefits for every dollar spent to meet the standards." This is not to say that these new standards are free for the general public. The article estimates that by 2025 the average increase in costs for the cars to meet the standards will be $72 per vehicle.
Undoubtedly this is a positive thing for the population and it is very difficult to see anything negative about it. Yes, it will end up costing us more in the short run but as shown by the numbers above the long run benefits almost dwarf the costs. Aside from the cost the only other negative in my opinion is the government oversight into private consumption. While yes this is ultimately a good choice I just think that it most of the time it is better for the population to get to that conclusion by themselves.
--Doug Burroughs
