McCain Proposes Incentives to Lower Gas Dependency

clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com WASHINGTON — John McCain offered plans Monday to develop more fuel-efficient cars and trucks, drawing a warm welcome from energy analysts but caution from environmentalists, who warned that new vehicles might trade one problem for another if they get off of oil only to plug into coal-burning power plants. Among his proposals: a $300 million bounty to anyone who develops a powerful, long-lasting car battery to leap past pending hybrid or plug-in cars; tougher enforcement of mileage standards for cars and light trucks; a quicker transition to flex fuel vehicles that can use alcohol-based fuel rather than gasoline; and a $5,000 tax credit to consumers to spark development of a zero-emission car. "In the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure," McCain said. "From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest successes."

I think the funniest part of this is that his solution to throwing around money is to throw around money.

There are some good ideas here; mostly the consumer tax credit. But the main message is "I got nuthin'. Here's a buttload of money, can I buy an idea?"