Obama, Clean Energy, and RV’s?
President Obama is on the road selling his stimulus package. His rhetoric, as usual, is compelling. On the surface, it all makes good sense. But if you look a little deeper, not only at the words, but at the images, there are so many contradictions.
Who was the genius who chose the RV capital of the world to deliver the first major pitch for this stimulus plan? President Obama tells us Joe the RV Builder lost his job because all the people that want to buy RV’s today cannot access the credit to buy them. Who are all these new RV buyers? Are these the same people that are losing their jobs and their homes?
So, part of the solution Obama continues to pitch – in Elkhart yesterday, and today in Ft. Myers – is to borrow $150 billion from China to invest in the green jobs of the future, which will also curb our dependence on foreign oil. At the same time, these green job workers will now have enough money to buy a gas guzzling 7 mile a gallon RV, which means Joe RV Builder can keep his job. WHAT?
There are currently hundreds of thousands of used RV’s on the market. Even new models that did not sell last year – about 60% of the total built – are available. Why build more? Can’t we let market forces dictate where the jobs of the future should come from? It does not sound like RV building would happen naturally without government intervention…
And who is the typical RV buyer? I can assure you this customer is not the hybrid/electric car customer, or the upper income family willing to pay more for a vehicle that saves the environment. There is not a market for green RV’s.
So, Mr. President, are you saying we can go green and still keep our camping habits in place?
Now if you tell me that RV’s can become our primary residences so that we can move from state to state looking for a job building solar panels — I will begin to understand your logic.
But logic and rhetoric are no longer taught in the public school system. That’s a good thing for our current leader, since the general public can no longer deconstruct pretty oratory and will be easily lulled into submission cheering all along the way!