About those EV1 charging stations

Today's WSJ includes "The U.S. Needs an Industrial Policy" by former Shell Oil pres John Hofmeister. Well, no. It's about the last thing anybody "needs". But special pleadings by oil execs (and others) is nothing new. Separation of church and state is a good thing, as is separation of big business and big government.

Yesterday's NY Times included this story about the new Tesla electric car. The article noted: "A few blocks from the Tesla Motors dealership here is one of California's charging stations for electric vehicles. But the Tesla Roadster, just the car that planners had in mind when the statewide network was conceived, cannot be charged there." Yup, these stations are all over the State and they are relics. They were put there by industrial policy makers who wrongly bet that many of us would be driving a GM EV1. Things did not work out that way.

The joys of getting governments (politics) involved in picking green winners is now a staple. But not from Tea Party hoi polloi, but rather from captains of industry and Ivy League brainiacs.