http://www.freep.com/voices/editorials/edems29_20040729.htmOil, Cars, Jobs
Kerry risks votes in sensible push for fuel efficiency
July 29, 2004
Everybody agrees that America is way too dependent for its own good on foreign oil, particularly from the volatile Middle East. The unending debate is whether to address this best by aggressively finding more oil under our own territory or by getting very serious about burning less.
In his speech tonight accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, U.S. Sen. John Kerry is reportedly ready to side in a major way with the conservation crowd. Depending on the details of his proposals, Kerry may be risking votes in Michigan, where the auto industry makes its home and employs hundreds of thousands of people.
Kerry has been endorsed by the United Auto Workers union, but there's no guarantee the rank and file will follow their leaders if they buy estimates from the Bush re-election campaign that Kerry's plan to raise fuel economy standards will cost Michigan 105,000 jobs. President George W. Bush is pushing an energy policy that combines expanded oil exploration with a $1.5-billion federal investment in the development of a new generation of vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Kerry is expected to propose $10 billion over the next decade in aid for auto companies that alter their plants or build new ones to make more efficient vehicles -- as long as the production remains in the United States. <snip>