US Government’s Push to EVs will Devastate the Working Class

Price and Batya Ungar-Sargon tackle the Biden Administration’s aggressive changes in auto standards.

The US government, under President Joe Biden’s executive order, aims to stop purchasing gas-powered vehicles by 2035. While this move is applauded for its environmental benefits, it is crucial to consider its potential impact on the working class, specifically in terms of limited transportation options and increased reliance on mass transit systems.

The transition to electric vehicles presents challenges for the working class. EVs generally have higher upfront costs, making them less affordable for low-income individuals. Additionally, the availability of charging infrastructure, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, may be inadequate, creating range anxiety and inconvenience.

The shift towards electric vehicles could also affect industries reliant on gas-powered vehicles, potentially putting jobs associated with manufacturing and servicing ICE vehicles at risk. While the transition may create new job opportunities in the EV industry, retraining programs would be necessary for affected workers.

The working class may face difficulties due to increased reliance on mass transit systems. Public transportation networks in certain areas, such as rural or underserved communities, may be insufficient or inaccessible, leading to scheduling issues, reliability concerns, and potential overcrowding. Not to mention the fact that an argument can be made that it is simply wrong to force people onto mass transition.

The move to electric vehicles makes sense on many levels.  But it must be done in a way that doesn’t benefit the rich and hurt the poor through crony capitalism and elitist policies.

”With the rise of the internet and the implosion of local news, America’s elite news media became nationalized, and journalists, academic and ideological,” she says. “Where once business concerns provided a countervailing force to push back against journalists’ worst tendencies, the pressures of the digital media landscape now align corporate incentives with newsroom crusades’

According to Ungar-Sargon, the moral panic around race, encouraged by today’s elite newsrooms, does nothing but consolidate the power of liberal elites and protect their own economic interests. ‘In the process, the media has abandoned the working class and undermined American democracy,’ she concludes. Bad News explains how and why it happened, and the dangers posed by this trend if it continues unchecked.

“Batya Ungar-Sargon is the Opinion Editor of Newsweek. Before that, she was the opinion editor of the Forward, the largest Jewish media outlet in America. She has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, the New York Review of Books Daily, and other publications. She has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, NBC, the Brian Lehrer Show, NPR, and at other media outlets. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.”