Feb. 15, 2026

EV Mandates: Who Pays, Who Profits, Who Loses?

EV Mandates: Who Pays, Who Profits, Who Loses?
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EVs are a tool. Electrification is a trend. Innovation is real. But mandates change the game—because once government forces the timeline, the costs don’t disappear… they get shifted, hidden, and paid by regular people. In this episode, we separate EV technology from EV policy and follow one question all the way down:

Who pays, who profits, and who loses? We hit the pressure points leaders keep dodging:
Grid reliability and peak demand reality

The “two bills” problem: sticker price AND system-wide infrastructure costs

Subsidies, “standards,” and rules that function like backdoor mandates

Minerals and batteries: mining, refining, processing, and geopolitical leverage
Why rural America and working families get squeezed first
How central planning turns innovation into compliance Then we lay out a better path that’s pro-energy, pro-worker, pro-stewardship, and pro-freedom:
Technology-neutral policy instead of government picking winners
Permitting reform so infrastructure and power generation can actually keep up
Domestic mining + refining + recycling capacity built here
Grid upgrades that are honest about timelines and costs
A serious role for nuclear and next-gen baseload power
And one principle that solves a lot: let consumers choose, let markets compete, and let America build Call to Action:
If this episode hit you, share it with one person who thinks mandates are “just speeding up progress.” The bill is coming—whether they admit it or not.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/world-of-payne--4732235/support.

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WEBVTT

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Hello, everyone, Welcome back to the World of Pain podcast.

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I know it's been a little while since we've had

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a subsidy show, but we're gonna jump right back into

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one right now. With that's kind of covering what's been

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kind of a popular debate topic lately, and that's the

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EV subsidies and electrification mandates really kind of pushing the

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way that they've kind of pushed the the evs on

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people getting people away from internal combustion engines and stuff

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like that, even though they might right now they're not

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really the best option for people. But let's let's get

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into the show Sumwhere tonight Amanda standing in his driveway

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staring at a dashboard that looks like a Christmas tree.

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He's not thinking about climate targets or market transitions. He's

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thinking about whether he can get to work tomorrow, whether

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that check clears Friday, and whether he can keep his

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kids in the same school another year. Somewhere tonight, a

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mother is doing the kind of budgeting that should qualify

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as a second job. She's not mad at her neighbors,

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and she's not trying to win the Internet. She's trying

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to stretch a tank of gas a grocery bill and

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medical copays across a month that feels longer every year,

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And somewhere tonight, a small business owner is looking at

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a truck that needs to be replaced in numbers that

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don't make sense anymore. The price is climbed, the interest

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rates climbed, the insurance climbed, the parts climbed, the labor climbed.

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Everything climbed, and the only thing that didn't climb is

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the margin. That's the America we're talking to, not a

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political cartoon, not a corporate brochure, not a press conference

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with just a perfect lightning. The real America that runs

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on work, sacrifice and responsibility. So when we talk about

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ev subsidies and the electrification mandates, we are not talking

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about a toy for rich people. We're talking about transportation,

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which means freedom. We are talking about mobility, which means employment.

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We're talking about whether a family can get to a job,

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whether a business can deliver a service, whether a farmer

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can keep a season on schedule, whether a town can

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function without being punished by decisions made hundreds of miles away.

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And here's the hard truth we have to say out

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loud before we get into anything technical A program can

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be borne out of good intentions and still be hijacked.

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It can be set to begin as help and then

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it becomes a machine. It can start as compassion and

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become a funnel where money goes one direction and influence

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goes the other. Government programs often begin with a reason.

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They often begin with a legitimate need. They often begin

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with an honest promise to help people avoid hardship, to

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stabilize the system, to accelerate progress, to protect the public.

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But when a system grows and the dollars multiply, the

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rules become a maze. And when bureaucracy becomes permanent, something

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else shows up. Waste shows up, then favoritism shows up,

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Then loopholes show up, then fraud shows up. It wants

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fraud shows up. Trust dies, The taxpayer becomes bitter, the

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honest recipient becomes suspect. The public turns into two tribes

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that can't hear each other anymore. So tonight, I'm not

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here to attack everyday Americans who make honest choices in

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the system that exists. If you brought home an ev

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because it worked for your life, that doesn't make you

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an enemy. If you wanted lower maintenance, a smoother drive,

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quieter commute. That doesn't make you a villain. If you're

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a business owner experimenting with the fleet because you're trying

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to cut operating costs, you are not the target of

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this episode. If you're a working family that took advantage

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of what the law offered and tried to build a

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better life, you are not the problem. The problem is

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the subsidy class, the permanent layer of insiders who learn

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how to turn public policy into private gain. The people

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who don't just follow the rules, they shape the rules.

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The people who speak the language of public good while

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quietly building a system where the public pays and the

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connected collect. And the reason this matters is because we

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are not talking about small money. We are talking about

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an entire national transition vehicles, charging networks, manufacturing incentives, emission standards,

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fuel economy rules, state level sales mandates, and a political

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war over the future of transportation. This is not a

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side issue. This is the American economy. This is the

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cost of living. This is the dignity of work. That

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is whether the middle class stays the middle class. So

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here's the moral framework before we get into the numbers.

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We can care about cleaner without letting bureaucrats build empires.

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We can care about innovation without allowing corporate capture. We

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can care about progress without forcing families into purchases they

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can't afford. Compassion and accountability are not enemies. In fact,

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compassion without accountability is how you get exploited, and accountability

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without compassion is how you get cruel. What we are

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aiming for is stewardship, stewardship of taxpayer dollars, stewardship of

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national priorities, stewardship of the truth. And if it makes

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some people uncomfortable, good, We've been numb for far too long.

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We've been trained to accept complexity as inevitable and waste

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as normal. Tonight, we're gonna untrain that because the biggest

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lie in modern politics is that you have to choose

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between caring about people and demanding competence. You don't. You

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can do both, You must do both. And the standard

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we're going to hold as simple. If you take money

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from the working American, you owe the working American. Transparency

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results in respect, not speeches, but results. America doesn't run

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on slogans. America runs on systems. It runs on roads

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that you don't ask what you believe. It runs on

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power lines that don't care what party you vote for.

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It runs on logistics and labor and steal and diesel

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and deadlines, and transportation sits right in the center of

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all of it. If transportation fails, everything gets more expensive.

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If transportation becomes unstable, life becomes smaller, jobs get harder

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to reach, goods get harder to move, and communities get isolated.

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So when the federal government and states started pushing the

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country toward electrification through subsidies, through regulations, through standards, through

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what some people call mandates and others call targets, they

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weren't just nudging consumer choice. They were bending a pillar

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of modern life. And the pitch was clean and simple.

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EV's reduced tailpipe emissions. EV's they can lower operating costs.

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EV's can bring manufacturing back, EV's can strengthen energy security.

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And evs can make the future cleaner and the economy stronger.

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And if that was all it was just a pitch,

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just a choice, just an option in the market, this

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wouldn't be nearly as explosive. But that's not all it became.

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Because the moment the government starts moving money, the moment

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it starts writing rules that favor one technology over another,

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the moment it begins setting standards that practically require a

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certain outcome, you aren't dealing with a neutral market anymore.

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You're dealing with power. And in America, power is supposed

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to be accountable to the people. That is the whole point.

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That is the promise. But here's the reality too. Too

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many families feel in their bones. They look at the

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cost of living and they feel the system is being

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engineered for somebody else. They look at the vehicle prices, financing, insurance,

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and repair costs, and they feel like they are being

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squeezed between corporate profit and government ambition. They feel like

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the decision makers will never stand in their driveway staring

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at that dashboard at that Christmas tree, and they will

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feel like the decision makers will never skip groceries to

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pay the insurance bill they fuel. The decision makers will

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never have to choose between fixing the truck and fixing

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the furnace. And what makes this topic even hotter right

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now is that the subsidy landscape has shifted fast. The

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IRS explains that the new clean Vehicle credit under Section

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thirty D is only available for vehicles acquired on or

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before September thirtieth, twenty twenty five, with rules for what

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acquired means, including binding contracts and payments. The IRS also

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states that the previously Owned Clean Vehicle credit under Section

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twenty five E is not available for vehicles acquired after

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September thirtieth, twenty twenty five, and it lays out eligibility rules,

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income limits, and the basic credit structure for qualifying purchases

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made before that cutoff. In the IRS notes that the

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Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit under Section forty five W

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follows the same section September thirtieth, twenty twenty five acquisition

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cutoff with seller and dealer reporting requirements tied to eligibility.

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So here's what that means in plain English. For early

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twenty twenty six, the customer facing headline grabbing credits that

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people argued about at the dinner table have largely expired

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for new acquisitions after that date, but a larger fight

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didn't disappear because the regulatory pressure remains, The infrastructure fight remains,

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the state level standards remain, the manufacturing incentives and industry

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policy remain. So if you think the EV subsidy era

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ended with that deadline, you're missing the bigger story. The

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bigger story is the system that formed around it, how

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government uses carrots and sticks to reshape markets, and how

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fast that can create a class of winners who depend

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on the program more than they depend on the customer.

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That's why the episode matters to everyday Americans, even those

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who will never buy an EV. It matters because these

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policies affect what manufacturers build, what dealers stock, what banks finance,

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what insures price, where repair shops can service, and what

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utilities must upgrade and what states will charge to replace

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lost fuel tax revenue. It matters because the middle class

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always ends up paying for the transition twice, once through

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taxes and once through higher costs inside the market. And

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it matters because when the country gets forced into a

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binary pro EV versus anti EV, we stop asking the

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only question that it truly protects the public. Where does

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the money go, who does it help, who does it hurt?

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And how do we do better? This episode is about

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the money flow, It's about the influence flow. It's about

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what happens when politics turn transportation into a battlefield. This

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episode is about where the money goes, who it helps,

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who it hurts, and how we do better. Before we

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talk about distortion, corruption, mandates, and the mess, Let's talk

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about the real benefits honestly and fully, because if we

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don't have the respect the real reasons people support these policies,

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we will never build solutions that hold the country together.

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There are Americans who benefit from electrification, incentives and initiatives

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in ways that are practical, not ideological. Their support isn't

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because they want to control anybody. Their support is because

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they're trying to solve problems in their own lives. Start

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with the most basic truth. Gas and diesel prices swing.

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The swing is based on global events, supply chains, refineries, politics,

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and things families can't control. When fuel spikes, it hits

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hard working people first because they can't simply stop driving.

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If you're a nurse, alignment, a factory worker, a teacher,

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a trainsman, you can't stop commuting. Your kid's needs aren't optional,

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and when fuel goes up, your budget doesn't suddenly get

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a raise to match it. For some households, the promise

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of an ev stability not perfection, not magic stability. If

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they want a predictable cost per mile, they want fewer

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surprise repairs related to certain drive train components. They want

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a quiet confidence that if they can charge at home,

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their fuel is there every morning. That benefit is real

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for some people, especially in households with a driveway, a garage,

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or accessible to reliable charging. It's not universal, but it

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is real. Now, let's talk about small business. A small

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business lives and dies by operating costs. A plumbing company

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doesn't care about political slogans. A delivery business doesn't care

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what's trending on social media. They care about whether the

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numbers work. If a business can reduce fuel costs, reduce

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certain maintenance costs, and keep vehicles on the road more consistently,

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that's not theory, and yes, some government incentives were designed

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to help that transition, especially when prices were high and

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infrastructure was still growing. That was part of the bridge

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logic help early adopters absorb upfront costs while the technology scales.

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The Department of Energy notes that the Internal Revenue Code

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Section thirty D provided up to seventy five hundred dollars

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to qualified buyers of new clean vehicles tied to requirements

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related to critical materials and battery components, with additional restrictions

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described as implementation evolved that credit no longer applies for

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vehicles acquired after September thirtieth, twenty twenty five. But the

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goal behind it was straightforward, reduce the upfront barrier, expanded option,

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and push the market towards scale. So if you're listening

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and thinking, at least they were trying to make it affordable.

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That's a fair point about the state of purpose. No,

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the used vehicle side matters too, because most working families

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don't buy new they can't afford to buy new. The

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IRS describes the Clean Vehicle Used Credit for qualifying purchase

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purchases acquired before September thirtyth twenty twenty five. Including the

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credit equals thirty percent of sale price up to a

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maximum of four thousand dollars with eligibility conditions such as

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purchase price limits and income liments. That's a tangible benefit

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for a household living paycheck to paycheck because a few

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thousand dollars can be the difference between we can do

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this and we can't. And again, this is where I

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want to be crystal clear. When honest people use a

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program the law allows that doesn't make them thieves, it

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makes them citizens. Navigating the system they were given. But

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citizen benefits isn't only about the tax credit. It's about

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the infrastructure. If a country wants people to adopt evs,

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charging has to exist. It has to be reliable. It

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has to be where people can actually travel. It has

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to work when they pull up, not after they call

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a helpline and wait. Under bipartisan Infrastructural Law, the federal

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government launched programs to support public EV charging infrastructure. The

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GAO notes that the FHWA administrators and EVI and the

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CFI program, and that is as of April twenty twenty five,

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three hundred and eighty four and CFI funded chargers were

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open to the public, while also pointing out performance management

242
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gaps for EV owners that build out its real benefit

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00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.680
for communities trying to attract travelers, it's a potential benefit.

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For businesses near charging sites, it can be a benefit.

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And if you want to understand why reliability matters so much,

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federal research has looked directly at how charging station reliability, reliance,

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00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:23.559
and location can affect EV adoption. The National Renewable Energy

248
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Laboratory published work in twenty twenty four specifically examining those relationships.

249
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So when people say we need charging before we can

250
00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:39.279
expect adoption, that isn't always a talking point. That's common sense. Now,

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let's talk about manufacturing and jobs, because this is where

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00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:46.160
the political fight gets really intense. A major part of

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the EV policy framework wasn't just about consumers. It was

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about industry. It was about building components domestically, it was

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about batteries, critical minerals, inverters, and the supply chain that

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00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:07.039
powers everything from the vehicles to the grid storage. Congressional

257
00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:13.000
Research Service explains that the Section forty five X Advanced

258
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Manufacturing Production Credit subsidizes production of specified goods like battery

259
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components and critical minerals, and that it is tied to

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a domestic production in the US or its territories. That

261
00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:31.880
means the policy isn't only aimed at helping someone buy

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a car. It was aimed at shaping where the car

263
00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:40.039
and its most expensive components get made. And if you're

264
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a worker in a manufacturing town, that's not abstract. That's

265
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your job, that's your mortgage, that's whether your kids can

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stay near grandparents or have to move away for work.

267
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So again, when people say this is about rebuilding American industry,

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the concept has a real foundation and the policy structure

269
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that encourage domestic production. Now, let's get personal, because policy

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00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:09.400
becomes real when you can picture the person. Picture a

271
00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:13.000
dad who runs a small landscaping company. He's got two trucks,

272
00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.839
a trailer, and a crew that depends on him. His

273
00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.640
business doesn't get bailed out if he misses a season.

274
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His crew doesn't get paid if he doesn't get paid.

275
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He hears that a commercial credit might help him modernize.

276
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He hears that operating costs could lower, he hears that

277
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maintenance might be simpler, and he starts to wonder, what

278
00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:39.000
if this is a way to build stability. He isn't

279
00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:43.839
thinking about ideology. He's thinking about survival and growth. Picture

280
00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:47.440
a family in a suburb with one aging suv and

281
00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:51.799
one sedan that's still hanging on. They don't want luxury,

282
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they want safety. They want predictable expenses. They don't want

283
00:21:56.759 --> 00:21:59.599
to be at the mercy of the next repair. If

284
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they can access a reliable, used EV, and if charging

285
00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:08.400
fits their living situation, and if the credit makes it possible,

286
00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:12.759
that feels like help. Picture a commuter who drives a

287
00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.599
lot and can charge it home. They do the math

288
00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:20.079
and realize they might save monthly. That's not fantasy. That's

289
00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:24.839
why these programs became politically powerful, because there are real,

290
00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:30.200
tangible benefits for some citizens. But here's the pivot, because

291
00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.279
in America, we are always one step away from the

292
00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:36.680
point where a real benefit becomes a rigged system. The

293
00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:39.240
same mechanism that helps a family can also become a

294
00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:44.640
mechanism that enriches an insider. The same complexity that protects

295
00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:47.720
a program from abuse can also become the complexity that

296
00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:51.599
hides the abuse. And that's where this series always goes.

297
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The question isn't whether we there are benefits, because there are.

298
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It helps people every day. The question is whether the

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00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:02.000
benefit it is proportionate to the cost, and whether the

300
00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:05.400
system that is formed around the benefit is poisoning the country.

301
00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:11.039
And now we're ready to say that part splits rooms

302
00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:18.519
in half, but needs to be said anyway, even when

303
00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:22.119
a program helps some citizens, it can still distort a

304
00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:27.160
market in ways that punish the middle class overall. That's

305
00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:31.519
the next section. Now here's where the conversation gets real,

306
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:36.039
because this is the part that you feel if you

307
00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.920
never buy an ev You feel in the prices of vehicles,

308
00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:42.519
you feel in the cost of insurance. You feel it

309
00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:46.480
in the monthly budget when electricity rates creep up. You

310
00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:51.000
feel it when the used market tightens, and suddenly affordable

311
00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:54.799
transportation becomes a joke people tell each other just to

312
00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:59.880
stay sane. The first hidden cost is simple and brutal.

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Subsidies don't float above the economy like a blessing. They

314
00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:09.839
land inside of the economy like weight. They change behavior,

315
00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:14.559
and when behavior changes at scale, the market reshapes itself

316
00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:18.440
around the incentive. A subsidy is a signal, and in

317
00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:23.599
modern America, signals get traded. Like commodities. Companies don't just

318
00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:27.359
respond to the consumer anymore. They respond to the incentive

319
00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:34.279
and infrastructure written by regulators and tax code architects. They

320
00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:40.640
chase eligibility the way a hunter chases tracks in the snow.

321
00:24:42.200 --> 00:24:46.559
Because eligibility is money, and when eligibility becomes money, it

322
00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:52.519
becomes a target. The entire product in its strategy, starts

323
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:57.599
to bend around thresholds, definitions, and carve outs. It stops

324
00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:02.440
being what does the customer one and becomes what qualifies

325
00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:06.480
under the rules. That shift sounds technical until you live it.

326
00:25:06.839 --> 00:25:10.720
You live it. When the cheapest trims disappear, you live

327
00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:13.160
it when the selection on the lot doesn't match what

328
00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:16.480
working families actually need. You live it when the market

329
00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:21.079
leans towards options that satisfy the policy goals instead of

330
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:25.000
the practical realities. Now put this in context for the

331
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:28.640
recent cutoff. The IRS has been explicit that the new

332
00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:33.279
Clean Vehicle Credit thirty D is not available for vehicles

333
00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:36.480
acquired after September thirtieth, twenty twenty five, and the same

334
00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:39.599
cut off applies for the used Clean Vehicle Credit and

335
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:45.119
the commercial cleaned Vehicle Credit. That matters because subsidy cliff

336
00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:50.359
creates distortions like a thunderstorm creates floods. When a deadline hits,

337
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:56.400
behavior spikes buyers rush, dealers adjust, manufacturers reprioritized. The whole

338
00:25:56.440 --> 00:26:01.079
market gets a short term sugar high, and then it's

339
00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:07.599
a sugar coma. The rush pulls demand forward. That means

340
00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:11.920
you get a crazy frenzy of purchases ahead of the date,

341
00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:15.680
followed by a slump after. It's not just a political story.

342
00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:20.519
It's a whiplash story that affects inventory pricing, financing deals,

343
00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:24.519
and trade in values. And the middle class always gets

344
00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:31.000
caught in the whiplash. The affluent can time purchases, shift plans,

345
00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:35.160
or buy anyways. The working family is stuck buying when

346
00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:39.720
the car finally dies, not when policy happens to be convenient.

347
00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:44.480
A distortion isn't only about timing, it's about pricing. The

348
00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:48.480
moment the market expects a credit, their credit becomes part

349
00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:52.519
of the pricing ecosystem. Even if this sticker doesn't show it,

350
00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:56.519
it shapes what sellers think buyers can afford. This is

351
00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:00.799
why people feel like they're being played. A family hears

352
00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:03.680
up to seventy five hundred and thinks, maybe we can

353
00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:10.319
do this, But the reality expands and depends on eligibility,

354
00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:14.960
vehicle qualification, dealer reporting, and a set of rules that

355
00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:21.279
can change. When policy becomes complicated enough, the consumer becomes

356
00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:25.799
dependent on an interpreter. And when the consumer becomes dependent

357
00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:30.880
on an interpreter, power shifts away from the citizen and

358
00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:34.759
toward the institution. That is a hidden cost, and it's

359
00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:37.640
a moral one at that. It's a cost of dignity

360
00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:41.119
because the average Americans should not need a compliance team

361
00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:45.279
just to buy a vehicle without getting burned. Now, let's

362
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:49.319
talk about demandates, because mandates are the silent partner of subsidies.

363
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:53.480
This is where the carrot and the stick relationship become obvious.

364
00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:59.880
The subsidy says, here's help if you choose the preferred path.

365
00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:04.720
The mandate says, you're narrowing your choices until the preferred

366
00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:09.079
path becomes the only path. Sometimes the mandate is direct.

367
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:14.720
Sometimes it comes through state level standards that effectively require

368
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:20.200
a rising share of zero emission sales. California's Advanced Clean

369
00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:24.079
Cars Program, for example, is designed to reach one hundred

370
00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:27.799
percent of new passenger vehicles meeting zero emission standards by

371
00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:32.039
the twenty thirty five model year, with plug in hybrids

372
00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:36.480
included in the framework. And this doesn't stay in California.

373
00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:40.799
Other states adopt similar standards, which means the market for

374
00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:47.799
manufacturers and dealers shift all over the nation even if

375
00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:51.000
your state never votes for it. Supply chains and production

376
00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:55.160
plans respond to the largest regulatory blocks, so you can

377
00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:59.240
live under gravitational pull of mandates you never supported, simply

378
00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:04.000
because markets serve scale. That is one of the most

379
00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:12.200
important things the average citizen needs to understand. In modern America,

380
00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:20.319
policy can travel without permission because it moves through the marketplace.

381
00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:24.960
Now layer on federal standards. The EPA's final rule for

382
00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:31.359
multi pollutant immersion emission vehicles with model year twenty twenty

383
00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:35.640
seven and titans over time for light duty and medium

384
00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:40.200
duty vehicles. Supporters will tell you it's flexible and technology neutral.

385
00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:43.400
Critics will tell you it functions like a pressure system

386
00:29:43.720 --> 00:29:48.759
that makes electrification the only realistic path at scale, and

387
00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:51.799
whether you can agree with the intention or not, you

388
00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:56.160
should be honest with the effects. It changes what manufacturers

389
00:29:56.200 --> 00:29:58.799
are willing to build and what they believe they can sell.

390
00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:03.119
You combine subsidies with tightening standards. You aren't letting the

391
00:30:03.160 --> 00:30:07.599
market decide. You're building a guided economy. And in guided economies,

392
00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.640
the biggest winners are usually the biggest insiders because they

393
00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:15.839
have the best ability to influence guidance. This is where

394
00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:19.880
regulatory capture creeps in. It creeps in quietly. It creeps

395
00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:25.000
in through stakeholder meetings, through rule making, comments drafted by eternities,

396
00:30:26.920 --> 00:30:31.119
through revolving doors, through think tanks, through trade groups, through

397
00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:34.920
lobbying that never look like bribery but behaves like a

398
00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:42.960
steering wheel. And here's the results. The small guide gets

399
00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.480
the compliance costs, the big guy gets carve outs the

400
00:30:46.519 --> 00:30:51.319
middle class. We put the bill now let's talk about infrastructure,

401
00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:56.880
because infrastructure is where idealism collides with reality. You cannot

402
00:30:57.119 --> 00:31:02.039
electrify transportation on press releases. You need reliable charging. You

403
00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:05.680
need it where people travel, not just where politicians want

404
00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:10.720
photo ops. The NEVY program was designed to help build

405
00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:14.480
charging corridors. It has been a subject of political and

406
00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:19.359
legal conflict. A federal judge ruled on January twenty third,

407
00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:25.519
twenty twenty six, yet the administration unlawfully suspended funding for

408
00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:31.279
NEVY formula program, blocking DOT from withholding funds or canceling

409
00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:34.559
approved plans. In that matter, even if you don't care

410
00:31:34.599 --> 00:31:38.920
about politics, you should care about what happens and what

411
00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:45.400
that instability does. It slows deployment, it looks like crap

412
00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:49.720
to the contractors, it frees the state planning, It turns

413
00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:53.079
a build out into a tug of war. And when

414
00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:56.640
you find out something else that should sober everybody up.

415
00:31:56.759 --> 00:32:00.680
The Government Accountability Office reported that as of April twenty

416
00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:03.480
twenty five, three hundred and eighty four NEVY and CFI

417
00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:06.880
funded chargers were open to the public, while also highlighting

418
00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:12.000
charge challenges with performance management goals. Think about what that

419
00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:17.160
means in emotional terms. Billions an authorization, years of announcement,

420
00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:22.200
and the public still sees a network that feels incomplete, inconsistent,

421
00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:27.839
and unreliable in too many places. That reliability problem is

422
00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:33.720
not imaginary. N r EL has examined how charging station

423
00:32:33.839 --> 00:32:47.000
reliability and resilience relate to ev adoption, acknowledging that reliability

424
00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:55.039
can matter and purchase decisions, and looking at data driven relationships.

425
00:32:55.960 --> 00:32:59.400
So when a working Americans say, don't force this before

426
00:32:59.440 --> 00:33:03.839
it's ready, that's not reactionary, that's practical. Now let's talk

427
00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:10.400
about grid costs, because there is more to this then

428
00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:15.039
that meets the eye. There's hidden costs everywhere, and the

429
00:33:15.119 --> 00:33:22.440
hidden costs become household costs. Electrification shifts energy demand. That

430
00:33:22.599 --> 00:33:26.599
means more load at the neighborhood level, not just the

431
00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:31.440
power plant level. Distribution transformers, feeder lines, local upgrades, and

432
00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:35.640
rate designs start to matter. You don't need to be

433
00:33:35.640 --> 00:33:39.240
an engineer to understand this. If every home on a

434
00:33:39.319 --> 00:33:43.559
street as a new major electrical load, the system has

435
00:33:43.640 --> 00:33:47.759
to handle it. Sometimes it can, sometimes it can't without upgrades,

436
00:33:48.119 --> 00:33:51.920
and upgrades it get paid for either through rates, fees,

437
00:33:52.119 --> 00:33:55.440
or taxes. There is no fourth option. This is why

438
00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:58.559
people who never bought an EV can still feel like

439
00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:02.680
they're subsidizing the transition, because even if the customer's credits

440
00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:06.519
and in twenty twenty five, the structural costs of electrification

441
00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:11.920
can't vanish, they shift to other channels of spending, public

442
00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:15.719
or private. Now let's talk about roads, because this is

443
00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:24.199
where policy gets cornered by math. For decades, road funding

444
00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:29.159
has leaned heavily on fuel taxes. Federal motor fuel taxes

445
00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:33.719
have long been central to the Highway Trust Fund revenue system.

446
00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:37.960
In major summaries, note the eighteen point four cents per

447
00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:42.480
gallon gasoline tax in twenty four point four. Since per

448
00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:48.159
gallon of diesel tax as core rates, if the fleet electrifies,

449
00:34:48.199 --> 00:34:52.559
that fuel tax base erodes. It doesn't matter what you

450
00:34:52.599 --> 00:34:57.840
think about evs. The accounting reality stays the same. So

451
00:34:57.880 --> 00:35:01.599
states respond in predictable ways. They add EV registration fees,

452
00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:06.360
they propose road usage charges, They experiment with per mile systems.

453
00:35:07.559 --> 00:35:10.719
They look for ways to refill a bucket that is draining.

454
00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:15.599
Congressional Research Service noted that in response to decreases in

455
00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:21.239
state gasoline taxes, thirty United States have imposed special registration

456
00:35:21.320 --> 00:35:25.079
fees for evs. Ranging from fifty to two hundred and

457
00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:29.480
ninety dollars. That's a hidden cost most EV buyers don't

458
00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:33.679
fully internalize until the renewal notice pops up. And if

459
00:35:33.719 --> 00:35:39.440
it's hidden costs that most non EV drivers don't internalize

460
00:35:39.639 --> 00:35:43.440
until states start talking about broader changes like per mile fees,

461
00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:49.280
So the story becomes even more complicated. Some EV drivers

462
00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:53.079
feel punished by fees. Some gas drivers feel punished by

463
00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:56.159
being stuck in a system that's underfunded and still taxed.

464
00:35:57.159 --> 00:35:59.840
Everybody feels like they're paying, and nobody feels like they're

465
00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:03.400
being treated fairly and fairness in the heartbeat of this

466
00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:12.760
whole episode. Now, let's talk about the used market again,

467
00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:18.920
because this is where working Americans lived mandates and standards

468
00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:24.079
can reshape what gets built. If manufacturers focus on meeting

469
00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:30.280
regulatory requirements, and if that focus reduces production of simpler,

470
00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:35.679
cheaper models than the bottom end of the market Titans.

471
00:36:36.880 --> 00:36:40.239
When the bottom end Titans, used prices rye When used

472
00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:48.519
prices rise, families stretch cars longer. When families stretch cars longer,

473
00:36:48.920 --> 00:36:54.519
safety declines and repair costs climb. And when repair costs climb,

474
00:36:54.800 --> 00:36:58.199
people start making choices that have nothing to do with

475
00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:03.119
ideology and everything to do with desperation. Then there's insurance.

476
00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:08.440
New technology can bring higher repair costs. Battery damage can

477
00:37:08.480 --> 00:37:14.400
be expensive, specialized repair capabilities can be limited. That can

478
00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:18.960
translate to higher premiums depending on the vehicle type, region,

479
00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:24.119
and claim trends. So even if operating in costs are

480
00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:27.760
lower in one category, the total cost picture can sting,

481
00:37:29.760 --> 00:37:32.800
and that sting lands hardest on people who don't have

482
00:37:32.840 --> 00:37:38.440
the cushion to absorb surprises. Now zoom out and ask

483
00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:44.760
what this does culturally. It does something dangerous. It turns

484
00:37:44.760 --> 00:37:53.039
transportation into a signal class. It makes some people feel

485
00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:55.800
like the system is being built for urban professionals with

486
00:37:55.840 --> 00:37:59.880
garages and predictable commutes, while role workers in blue collar

487
00:37:59.880 --> 00:38:04.119
families are treated as an afterthought. It makes some people

488
00:38:04.280 --> 00:38:07.719
feel like they're being told to adapt by leaders who

489
00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:11.880
never have to adapt themselves. And if you want national unity,

490
00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:15.679
you can't build policy that makes whole regions feel like

491
00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:20.199
collateral damage. So here is the core point of this segment,

492
00:38:20.519 --> 00:38:24.119
and I want you to hear what it like a drumbeat.

493
00:38:27.079 --> 00:38:35.880
Even if electrification has benefits, even if some subsidies were

494
00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:41.480
well intended, the hidden costs are real, the distortions are real,

495
00:38:41.599 --> 00:38:45.440
the complexity is real, the instability is real, the fairness

496
00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:49.000
problem is real. And now we have to talk about

497
00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:52.800
what happens when you pour complexity, money, and political urgency

498
00:38:53.079 --> 00:38:56.239
into one system, because that is how you get fraud.

499
00:38:57.079 --> 00:38:59.360
That is how you get abuse. That is how you

500
00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:05.199
get corrupt. Now let's say something that should be obvious

501
00:39:05.639 --> 00:39:10.760
but somehow isn't in modern politics. Fraud is not an

502
00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:15.480
accounting error. Fraud is theft with paperwork. And when fraud

503
00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:20.079
happens inside subsidy programs, it doesn't just steal money. It

504
00:39:20.119 --> 00:39:26.159
steals faith. It steals trust between citizens, It steals how

505
00:39:26.199 --> 00:39:31.360
we feel what happens with our tax dollars is appropriate.

506
00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:38.840
It turns honest recipients into suspects and taxpayers into cynics.

507
00:39:41.480 --> 00:39:45.119
That is why we have to talk about corruption without flinching,

508
00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:51.519
but also without turning it into a cheap partisan carnival,

509
00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:55.320
because this isn't one side is evil. This is what

510
00:39:55.400 --> 00:39:59.119
happens when you create a system with three ingredients, massive dollars,

511
00:39:59.400 --> 00:40:06.199
complicated rules, and political urgency. Those three ingredients don't always

512
00:40:06.320 --> 00:40:12.480
produce progress. Very often they produce predators, fraud, starts where

513
00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:18.559
complexity starts, because complexity creates cover. If the rules are simple,

514
00:40:18.760 --> 00:40:22.360
abuse is easier to detect. If the rules are amazed,

515
00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:28.000
abuse can hide behind confusion. That's one reason why programs

516
00:40:28.039 --> 00:40:33.639
become so vulnerable. A vehicle credit isn't just buy car,

517
00:40:34.320 --> 00:40:40.079
get credit. It can involve acquisition dates, placed in service, rules,

518
00:40:40.440 --> 00:40:49.599
binding contracts, dealer reporting, buyer income eligibilities, vehicle qualification lists,

519
00:40:49.639 --> 00:40:54.920
and documentation. When normal citizens can't easily understand a program,

520
00:40:55.000 --> 00:41:00.599
the door opens from manipulation. Sometimes that manipulation is malicious,

521
00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:07.199
and sometimes it's opportunistic. Sometimes it's creative behavior that gets

522
00:41:07.320 --> 00:41:13.280
rationalized because people believe the program is temporary and everyone

523
00:41:13.920 --> 00:41:18.320
should grab what they can now add in the cliff

524
00:41:19.719 --> 00:41:25.159
by September thirty, twenty twenty five, cut off created a

525
00:41:25.199 --> 00:41:28.920
hard line where behavior naturally tries to rush over the

526
00:41:28.920 --> 00:41:35.519
border before it closes. Deadline philosophy in psychology is powerful.

527
00:41:37.159 --> 00:41:40.960
It makes good people sloppy, It makes marginal people greedy.

528
00:41:41.400 --> 00:41:45.079
It makes bad actors confident because they can assume enforcement

529
00:41:45.280 --> 00:41:49.039
can't keep up with the volume, and that assumption is

530
00:41:49.079 --> 00:41:55.440
often correct. The next layer of fraud is the ecosystem

531
00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:59.800
around the subsidy. This is where the money multiplies. It's

532
00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:03.320
not just the buyer. It's the dealer. It's the paperwork processor.

533
00:42:03.599 --> 00:42:07.159
It's the contractor. It's the consultant. It's the compliance firm.

534
00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:10.119
It's the grant writer, it's the vendor. It's all of

535
00:42:10.159 --> 00:42:14.679
these taking their cut and their share of this subsidy.

536
00:42:15.280 --> 00:42:20.360
Every additional middleman becomes a potential leak point. This is

537
00:42:20.360 --> 00:42:25.840
why Americans feel like nothing is simple help anymore. Help

538
00:42:25.880 --> 00:42:29.360
becomes an industry. Help becomes a pipeline with fees attached.

539
00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:33.000
Help becomes a web of actors who take a slice

540
00:42:33.639 --> 00:42:37.559
before the citizen ever feels relief. Now, let's talk about

541
00:42:37.639 --> 00:42:42.159
charging of a structure, because infrastructure is where corruption becomes stealthy.

542
00:42:43.280 --> 00:42:51.679
When government funds infrastructure, the public expects visible progress. Station's installed, corridors, built,

543
00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:58.440
reliability achieved. But the GAO noted that FHWA had not

544
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:07.079
fully defined performance goals for some purposes of NEVY, even

545
00:43:08.960 --> 00:43:14.599
while tracking counts of chargers. When performance goals are unclear

546
00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:19.800
or incomplete, accountability gets fuzzy. And when accountability gets fuzzy,

547
00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:25.320
waste grows teeth. Waste doesn't always look like a guy

548
00:43:25.400 --> 00:43:32.599
stealing cash. Waste often looks like inflated pricing justified by complexity.

549
00:43:33.119 --> 00:43:39.079
Waste often looks like contracts layered with administrative overhead. Waste

550
00:43:39.159 --> 00:43:41.960
looks like projects that take longer than promised because the

551
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:48.079
incentive was never tied tightly to outcomes. And when politics

552
00:43:48.119 --> 00:43:52.679
hits an instability becomes its own form of waste. The

553
00:43:52.800 --> 00:43:57.079
January twenty third, twenty twenty six ruling over the National

554
00:43:57.360 --> 00:44:05.920
EV Infrastructure highlights just how contested and vulnerable the program

555
00:44:06.119 --> 00:44:11.360
has been to political interference in legal battles. When that happens,

556
00:44:11.719 --> 00:44:16.679
citizens see a chaos story, and chaos stories breed conspiracy thinking.

557
00:44:17.639 --> 00:44:22.480
And when the reality is simpler, big programs attract big fights,

558
00:44:22.840 --> 00:44:26.360
and big fights slow the work. Now, let's talk about

559
00:44:26.400 --> 00:44:31.039
the regulatory capture, because this is the corruption that wears

560
00:44:31.159 --> 00:44:35.519
a clean suit and smiles for the camera. Regulatory capture

561
00:44:35.679 --> 00:44:39.920
happens when the regulated industry becomes the real author of

562
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.599
the rules, not always directly, not always illegally, but effectively.

563
00:44:45.039 --> 00:44:48.920
They shape definitions, They shape timelines, they shape exemptions, They

564
00:44:48.960 --> 00:44:53.119
shape what counts and what doesn't. And in a system

565
00:44:53.480 --> 00:44:59.119
as massive as transportation electrification, where auto manufacturers, energy companies,

566
00:44:59.400 --> 00:45:06.519
tech firm, mineral supply chains, and government agencies collide. Capture

567
00:45:07.039 --> 00:45:15.519
is a risk. It's also a gravitational force. You can

568
00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:20.360
see pieces of that and how policy debates play out

569
00:45:20.599 --> 00:45:26.519
around state standards. California's Advanced Clean Cars to framework has

570
00:45:26.559 --> 00:45:31.400
been politically and legally contested, including debates over federal approvals

571
00:45:31.400 --> 00:45:41.199
and whether congressional powers can overturn them under the Congressional

572
00:45:41.199 --> 00:45:49.800
Review Act with national applications because other states follow California's standards.

573
00:45:50.400 --> 00:45:53.960
Here's the point. When the rules are contested at that level,

574
00:45:54.400 --> 00:46:01.480
When they affect national markets, the pressure to influence and

575
00:46:01.559 --> 00:46:08.159
have influence on them is enormous. That pressure doesn't come

576
00:46:08.199 --> 00:46:12.840
from ordinary citizens. It comes from institutions. Now step back

577
00:46:13.079 --> 00:46:17.320
and ask why enforcement often fails. Sometimes enforcement fails because

578
00:46:17.320 --> 00:46:21.320
agencies are understaffed. Sometimes it fails because programs are too

579
00:46:21.360 --> 00:46:26.280
new and the auditing system isn't even built yet. Sometimes

580
00:46:26.480 --> 00:46:30.119
it fails because the political priority is speed and verification

581
00:46:30.280 --> 00:46:36.119
is treated like a nuisance. And sometimes it feels like

582
00:46:36.199 --> 00:46:41.480
it fails because politicians don't want scandal. Scandal is messy,

583
00:46:41.719 --> 00:46:46.400
scandal is complicated. Scandal undermines the moral narrative that sold

584
00:46:46.599 --> 00:46:49.920
the program, So what do they do. They manage perception

585
00:46:50.039 --> 00:46:54.880
instead of managing integrity. And when perception gets managed, the

586
00:46:54.920 --> 00:47:00.239
doors open wider for bad actors because bad actors can sen. Hence,

587
00:47:00.280 --> 00:47:04.280
when a system is more complicated and more concerned with

588
00:47:04.440 --> 00:47:11.000
headlines than with discipline, fraud also harms honest recipients. This

589
00:47:11.079 --> 00:47:14.599
is a critical moral point too many people ignore. When

590
00:47:14.639 --> 00:47:19.679
fraud grows, the public turns against the program itself. That

591
00:47:19.800 --> 00:47:24.360
means honest people, people who truly benefited, people who made

592
00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:28.920
decisions based on lawful incentives, get swept into suspicion. Their

593
00:47:28.960 --> 00:47:34.400
neighbors resent them, their co workers side eye them, their

594
00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:38.400
legitimacy gets questioned, and that is how programs that start

595
00:47:38.679 --> 00:47:43.079
with compassion end in social division. Now let's talk about

596
00:47:43.079 --> 00:47:46.519
the subsidy class, because this is the anger you feel

597
00:47:48.119 --> 00:47:51.519
but maybe haven't named yet. The subsidy class is not

598
00:47:51.559 --> 00:47:55.599
a political party. The subsidy class is a behavior pattern.

599
00:47:56.400 --> 00:48:02.320
It's the network of consultants, contractors, lobbyists, compliance specialists, and

600
00:48:02.400 --> 00:48:08.480
corporate strategists who treat public policy like a revenue stream.

601
00:48:09.079 --> 00:48:12.920
They don't ask does this help the nation? They ask

602
00:48:13.920 --> 00:48:18.400
can we position ourselves to capture the benefit? They're the

603
00:48:18.440 --> 00:48:23.400
ones who can survive when credits expire because they've already

604
00:48:23.440 --> 00:48:26.880
banked the advantage. They're the ones who adapt when the

605
00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:31.000
rules change because they helped write the rules, and the

606
00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:33.760
middle class can feel it. The middle class feels like

607
00:48:33.800 --> 00:48:35.679
they're the only ones who don't have a seat at

608
00:48:35.679 --> 00:48:39.519
the table, but they're still paying for the dinner. Now,

609
00:48:39.840 --> 00:48:41.800
I want to be careful here because I refuse the

610
00:48:41.800 --> 00:48:46.599
poison the country with paranoia and propaganda. Not every contractor

611
00:48:46.679 --> 00:48:51.280
is corrupt, not every company is dishonest, not every program

612
00:48:51.400 --> 00:48:55.480
is a scam. But it is also childish to pretend

613
00:48:55.519 --> 00:49:00.760
that the incentives don't attract manipulation. So we have to

614
00:49:00.840 --> 00:49:05.000
have a standard. A standard says, if you take taxpayer money,

615
00:49:05.440 --> 00:49:09.440
you have to prove the results. If you shape consumer

616
00:49:09.599 --> 00:49:14.360
markets with mandates and subsidies, you must prove the fairness

617
00:49:14.519 --> 00:49:19.920
is still there. If you build complexity, you must justify

618
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:25.320
why it is so complex. Because complexity can be used

619
00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:28.239
for good, but it can also be used as camouflage.

620
00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:31.239
Now here's the turning point, and I want you to

621
00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:34.199
feel the weight of it. Ev Consumer credits were cut

622
00:49:34.239 --> 00:49:38.119
off after September thirtieth, twenty twenty five, but the mandate pressure,

623
00:49:38.280 --> 00:49:43.559
infrastructure spending battles, and industrial policy incentives still shape the system.

624
00:49:43.719 --> 00:49:47.119
The fight didn't end, it shifted. That means fraud risk

625
00:49:47.440 --> 00:49:52.800
didn't disappear. It migrates. It migrates into manufacturing incentives, it

626
00:49:52.840 --> 00:49:57.920
migrates into grant programs, it migrates into contract ecosystems, it

627
00:49:58.000 --> 00:50:03.000
migrates into compliance claims. And if we don't tighten accountability,

628
00:50:03.199 --> 00:50:06.159
we will repeat the same American tragedy we've seen one

629
00:50:06.239 --> 00:50:09.119
hundred times. A program will be sold in the language

630
00:50:09.159 --> 00:50:11.960
of virtue, it will be captured in the language of complexity,

631
00:50:12.119 --> 00:50:14.440
and it will be defended in the language of urgency,

632
00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:16.559
and it will be paid for by the people who

633
00:50:16.599 --> 00:50:21.039
have the least influence over its design. That is not progress.

634
00:50:21.400 --> 00:50:25.440
That is exploitation with good pr So here's the emotional

635
00:50:25.480 --> 00:50:27.920
truth I want to put on the table before we

636
00:50:28.079 --> 00:50:32.320
move into the next sponsor break and the solutions later.

637
00:50:33.800 --> 00:50:36.800
The reason the topic creates so much heat is because

638
00:50:37.440 --> 00:50:41.159
it touches identity, it touches freedom, and it touches fairness.

639
00:50:42.360 --> 00:50:46.039
People don't just argue about evs because of technology. They

640
00:50:46.159 --> 00:50:48.960
argue because they're asking do I still get to choose

641
00:50:49.039 --> 00:50:52.079
my life? Or is my life going to be engineered

642
00:50:52.320 --> 00:50:55.679
for me by people who never have to live with

643
00:50:55.760 --> 00:51:00.519
the consequences. The question is valid, and if the country

644
00:51:00.760 --> 00:51:05.320
wants unity, we can't mock that question. We have to

645
00:51:05.400 --> 00:51:09.599
answer it with reforms that respect citizens, protect on as families,

646
00:51:09.880 --> 00:51:15.800
and punish fraud like it's theft. Because it is all right,

647
00:51:17.639 --> 00:51:22.280
let's take a break right here, because what we're talking

648
00:51:22.280 --> 00:51:24.760
about tonight is heavy. It hits the wallet, it hits

649
00:51:24.800 --> 00:51:27.760
the pride, and it hits that deep place where a

650
00:51:27.760 --> 00:51:31.119
person starts asking am I being respected? Or am I

651
00:51:31.199 --> 00:51:34.079
being used? And that's exactly what I want to talk

652
00:51:34.119 --> 00:51:37.360
to you about. A brand that stands for the opposite

653
00:51:37.400 --> 00:51:41.920
of being used Valor Built apparel, because valor Built isn't

654
00:51:42.000 --> 00:51:44.840
just clothing. It's a flag planted in the ground that

655
00:51:44.880 --> 00:51:48.760
says you still believe in work, in responsibility, in faith,

656
00:51:49.039 --> 00:51:51.440
in community, and in the kind of America that doesn't

657
00:51:51.440 --> 00:51:54.400
need a permission slip to do the right thing. Let

658
00:51:54.400 --> 00:51:57.760
me say it this way. There's a difference between a

659
00:51:57.800 --> 00:52:02.320
system that talks about helping people in a community that

660
00:52:02.480 --> 00:52:08.239
actually helps people. There's a difference between bureaucracy and brotherhood.

661
00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:12.840
There's a difference between programs and purpose. Valor Built was

662
00:52:12.880 --> 00:52:16.840
built on purpose. It's built on the idea that what

663
00:52:17.079 --> 00:52:19.760
you wear can be more than fabric. It can be

664
00:52:19.840 --> 00:52:22.719
a reminder, a statement, a standard, a promise that you

665
00:52:22.800 --> 00:52:27.880
make to yourself when nobody's watching, when it's early, when

666
00:52:27.920 --> 00:52:31.079
it's hard, when it's inconvenient, when your excuse is start

667
00:52:31.119 --> 00:52:35.039
negotiating with your goals. That is what we mean by

668
00:52:35.039 --> 00:52:39.639
goal where because there are days you don't need motivation,

669
00:52:40.039 --> 00:52:46.440
you need identity, You need a hard reminder that you

670
00:52:46.480 --> 00:52:49.000
are not here to drift. You are here to build.

671
00:52:49.599 --> 00:52:51.920
You are here to lead your family. You are here

672
00:52:51.960 --> 00:52:54.400
to carry your weight, and you are here to leave

673
00:52:54.400 --> 00:52:57.719
the world better than you found it. And I'm going

674
00:52:57.719 --> 00:53:00.480
to be honest with you, this country is starving for that. Again.

675
00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:04.000
We've got plenty of people selling comfort. We've got plenty

676
00:53:04.000 --> 00:53:07.840
of people selling outrage. We've got plenty of people selling

677
00:53:07.960 --> 00:53:12.880
victimhood like it's a subscription plan. Valor Bilt sells the opposite.

678
00:53:13.239 --> 00:53:19.480
Valerbilt sells resilience, unity, patriotism, and a backbone. Faith without apology,

679
00:53:19.719 --> 00:53:23.559
community without bureaucracy, and the kind of strength that doesn't

680
00:53:23.599 --> 00:53:27.079
tear people down, it pulls people up. And says you're

681
00:53:27.079 --> 00:53:29.679
coming with me. And here's the part I love the

682
00:53:29.719 --> 00:53:33.400
most because it matches the spirit of tonight's episode With

683
00:53:33.559 --> 00:53:37.000
valor Bilt, your purchase goes beyond the item arriving at

684
00:53:37.039 --> 00:53:41.559
your door. That matters because we're talking about a nation

685
00:53:41.679 --> 00:53:44.760
where people can feel like their money disappears into a

686
00:53:44.840 --> 00:53:48.840
machine and they never see the impact. Valor Built flips

687
00:53:48.840 --> 00:53:53.519
that script. Valor Bilt is committed to meaningful causes, supporting

688
00:53:53.519 --> 00:53:58.000
initiatives like cancer research and helping veterans because we believe

689
00:53:58.079 --> 00:54:02.360
Americans should help America not through a labyrinth of paperwork,

690
00:54:02.960 --> 00:54:07.679
but through a movement of people who still know what

691
00:54:07.719 --> 00:54:11.639
responsibility looks like. So if you're tired of watching systems

692
00:54:11.679 --> 00:54:14.800
grow while family shrink, if you're tired of seeing the

693
00:54:14.840 --> 00:54:18.800
connected wins while the working man gets told to just adjust,

694
00:54:19.480 --> 00:54:23.719
then where's something that represents who you truly are? Where

695
00:54:23.719 --> 00:54:28.559
the reminder, where the standard, Where the grit go? Check

696
00:54:28.599 --> 00:54:34.039
out Valorabilt, Apparel and Subboard, a company that believes in community, patriotism,

697
00:54:34.320 --> 00:54:36.920
quality and doing the right thing when it costs something.

698
00:54:37.880 --> 00:54:39.639
Because at the end of the day, your money is

699
00:54:39.639 --> 00:54:42.559
a vote, not just in politics, your money is a

700
00:54:42.639 --> 00:54:45.960
vote in culture and Valorbilt is one of those votes

701
00:54:46.000 --> 00:54:48.519
that says I'm not giving up on this country. I'm

702
00:54:48.559 --> 00:54:51.039
not giving up on hard work, I'm not giving up

703
00:54:51.039 --> 00:54:55.239
on faith, and I'm not giving up on responsibility. Now

704
00:54:55.239 --> 00:54:59.920
back to the episode. All right, we've named the better,

705
00:55:00.920 --> 00:55:06.800
we've exposed the distortions. We've talked about how good intentions

706
00:55:06.800 --> 00:55:11.079
can be hijacked by complexity, by urgency, by a class

707
00:55:11.079 --> 00:55:14.039
of people who make a living off of other's money.

708
00:55:15.280 --> 00:55:18.360
Now we talk about the part that most shows won't.

709
00:55:19.400 --> 00:55:23.719
We build a fix that respects real people, crushes fraud,

710
00:55:24.280 --> 00:55:27.719
and refuses to turn the middle class into an unlimited

711
00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:33.639
funding source for someone else's grand plan. Because here's the truth.

712
00:55:33.880 --> 00:55:39.719
Americans can handle hard transitions. We've handled wars, recessions, energy shocks,

713
00:55:39.760 --> 00:55:44.400
and industrial revolutions. What Americans can't handle, what they will

714
00:55:44.440 --> 00:55:48.159
not tolerate forever, is being lied to talk down, to

715
00:55:48.519 --> 00:55:52.199
build for systems that benefit insiders more than citizens. So

716
00:55:52.360 --> 00:55:56.039
the fix starts with one guiding principle. If you take

717
00:55:56.239 --> 00:56:01.119
taxpayer money, you owe the taxpayer's proof, not vibe, not slogans,

718
00:56:01.559 --> 00:56:08.000
not a glossy brochure with smiling faces. Proof improve has

719
00:56:08.119 --> 00:56:10.880
to be simple, and it has to be simple enough

720
00:56:10.960 --> 00:56:14.400
for an ordinary working person to understand without needing a

721
00:56:14.480 --> 00:56:20.199
lawyer or someone else to explain what's going on. The

722
00:56:20.280 --> 00:56:25.400
first reform is transparency that actually hurts. Not transparency where

723
00:56:25.440 --> 00:56:28.119
they publish a thousand pages of PDFs and call it

724
00:56:28.159 --> 00:56:31.159
a day. I'm talking about a public dashboard where a

725
00:56:31.199 --> 00:56:34.119
citizen can type in their state, their country, their zip

726
00:56:34.159 --> 00:56:37.400
code and see exactly what was funded, who got paid,

727
00:56:37.599 --> 00:56:40.960
and what the timeline was, whether it worked. If a

728
00:56:41.039 --> 00:56:43.920
charging station is funded with public money, it should have

729
00:56:43.960 --> 00:56:47.719
a public scorecard. It should have a way for it

730
00:56:47.800 --> 00:56:52.000
to show uptime, downtime, repair, response time, and whether it

731
00:56:52.119 --> 00:56:56.039
means the performance standard the public was promised. And if

732
00:56:56.079 --> 00:56:59.079
it's broken half the time, that shouldn't be hidden a

733
00:56:59.119 --> 00:57:04.480
report that no one reads, and if a contractor missus targets,

734
00:57:04.719 --> 00:57:09.920
the consequences need to be automatic. No sweetheart extensions, no

735
00:57:10.119 --> 00:57:13.639
will revisit the timeline, No quiet change orders that double

736
00:57:13.719 --> 00:57:17.960
the price. That leads right into my second reform, pay

737
00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:21.840
for performance not activity. We've got to stop paying for

738
00:57:21.960 --> 00:57:25.559
people to be trying. We've got to stop paying for

739
00:57:25.639 --> 00:57:30.599
people for initiating. We've got to stop paying people for deploying, planning,

740
00:57:30.639 --> 00:57:35.719
and consulting like those words are achievements. If someone gets

741
00:57:35.719 --> 00:57:39.000
a public contract to build something, they get paid when

742
00:57:39.039 --> 00:57:42.400
it works, when it stays working, when it serves the

743
00:57:42.480 --> 00:57:47.480
public the way it was promised. That changes everything because

744
00:57:47.519 --> 00:57:52.480
it changes incentives. Right now, the incentive is too many

745
00:57:52.519 --> 00:57:58.079
programs is to get approved, get funded, get installed, and

746
00:57:58.119 --> 00:58:01.519
then that maintenance becomes somebody else's problem. A system like

747
00:58:01.559 --> 00:58:05.840
that is designed for photo ops, not citizens. A performance

748
00:58:05.920 --> 00:58:10.960
model forces durability, It forces competence. It forces the contractor

749
00:58:11.159 --> 00:58:14.639
to care about the user experience because the money is

750
00:58:14.719 --> 00:58:18.760
tied to the outcome. The third reform is simplification, because

751
00:58:18.800 --> 00:58:22.960
complexity is the oxygen that fraud breathes. A program that

752
00:58:23.039 --> 00:58:26.480
requires a normal family to interpret fine print like a

753
00:58:26.519 --> 00:58:29.679
tax attorney is not a program designed for the public.

754
00:58:29.760 --> 00:58:35.840
It's a program designed for gatekeepers. If consumer incentives ever

755
00:58:35.920 --> 00:58:42.519
come back in any reform, they must be brutally simple, targeted,

756
00:58:42.719 --> 00:58:46.920
and predictable. No maye of thresholds that change every single year.

757
00:58:47.360 --> 00:58:51.159
No qualify unless you don't, no last minute rule changes

758
00:58:51.199 --> 00:58:54.280
that turn a family's plan into a financial trap. And

759
00:58:54.320 --> 00:58:59.079
if policymakers can't keep it simple, they should stop touching

760
00:58:59.119 --> 00:59:04.239
consumer credits entirely and move toward funding barriers instead of

761
00:59:04.480 --> 00:59:13.360
subsidizing purchases, because subsidizing consumption is where distortion multiplies the fascists.

762
00:59:15.679 --> 00:59:20.079
The fourth reform is targeting that protects the middle class

763
00:59:20.480 --> 00:59:23.840
instead of insulting the middle class. This is where leaders

764
00:59:23.920 --> 00:59:30.360
need to stop pretending its compassionate design programs primarily rewarding

765
00:59:30.519 --> 00:59:35.199
people who already have the most purchasing power. Compassion isn't

766
00:59:35.280 --> 00:59:41.320
a press release. Compassion is design. If any public health exists,

767
00:59:41.440 --> 00:59:45.920
it should prioritize working households that actually need help, not

768
00:59:46.039 --> 00:59:49.119
households that were already in the market for the most

769
00:59:49.119 --> 00:59:55.800
expensive options. It should not punish a family because they

770
00:59:55.840 --> 00:59:59.880
make too much to qualify but still can't afford the transition.

771
01:00:01.119 --> 01:00:05.039
That middle zone is where resentment is born, because that

772
01:00:05.119 --> 01:00:08.880
middle zone feels invisible. They pay the bill, but they

773
01:00:08.880 --> 01:00:12.519
don't get the benefit. The fifth reform is fraud enforcement

774
01:00:12.800 --> 01:00:18.360
that is fast, public, and serious, not performative. Serious. We

775
01:00:18.440 --> 01:00:24.239
need enforcement that doesn't just clawback money quietly. We need

776
01:00:24.480 --> 01:00:30.000
enforcement that deters the next thief. That means consistent auditing,

777
01:00:31.599 --> 01:00:38.079
real prosecution, and penalties that make the risk unacceptable. Because

778
01:00:38.119 --> 01:00:42.719
of fraud becomes survivable, it becomes a business model. And

779
01:00:42.760 --> 01:00:46.800
once it becomes a business model, honest people start getting

780
01:00:46.840 --> 01:00:49.800
treated like suspects because a system is too weak to

781
01:00:49.840 --> 01:00:55.840
separate them from the criminals. So you protect honest recipients

782
01:00:56.559 --> 01:01:00.960
by being ruthless towards the fraudsters. It's not cruelty, that's

783
01:01:01.000 --> 01:01:06.559
compassion with a spine. The sixth Reform is ending regulatory

784
01:01:06.760 --> 01:01:09.679
capture at the route. And I want you to hear me.

785
01:01:09.800 --> 01:01:12.960
This is not a conspiracy theory. This is structural reality.

786
01:01:13.400 --> 01:01:16.760
Anytime you build a massive program that reshapes markets, the

787
01:01:16.800 --> 01:01:19.719
biggest player will always try to shape the rules. They

788
01:01:19.800 --> 01:01:23.800
call it stakeholder input. They will call it in the

789
01:01:23.880 --> 01:01:30.239
industry expertise, they will call it public private partnership. And

790
01:01:30.280 --> 01:01:33.079
if the same corporations that benefit are the ones helping

791
01:01:33.119 --> 01:01:36.199
write the rules, you do not have a neutral system.

792
01:01:36.480 --> 01:01:38.880
You have a guided market with private hands on the

793
01:01:38.920 --> 01:01:45.360
steering wheel. So we need bright line conflict rules, longer

794
01:01:45.400 --> 01:01:49.000
cooling off periods between regulators and the industries. They oversee

795
01:01:50.159 --> 01:01:54.400
public disclosure of role making and the influence in public

796
01:01:54.599 --> 01:01:59.679
in the plain language, open to the public, clear records

797
01:01:59.800 --> 01:02:03.239
of who proposed which provision and why they were accepted,

798
01:02:03.840 --> 01:02:07.239
and we need to stop acting like complexity is advanced policy.

799
01:02:08.039 --> 01:02:11.800
Most of the time, complexity is camouflage. The seventh reform

800
01:02:11.920 --> 01:02:16.639
is to stop using mandates as substitute for legitimacy. Let's

801
01:02:16.639 --> 01:02:20.159
be honest about human nature. People will support change when

802
01:02:20.159 --> 01:02:25.199
they feel respected, will resist that change when they feel coerced.

803
01:02:25.880 --> 01:02:30.320
If standards tight and faster than infrastructure and affordability can

804
01:02:30.360 --> 01:02:34.920
realistically handle, you don't get progress. You get backlash. You

805
01:02:34.960 --> 01:02:38.119
get a country that feels like it's being forced into

806
01:02:38.159 --> 01:02:42.599
a lifestyle by people who may never pay the price

807
01:02:42.880 --> 01:02:47.039
of that force. So standards have to be paced to

808
01:02:47.039 --> 01:02:51.280
be readiness. They have to protect affordability. They have to

809
01:02:51.440 --> 01:02:55.719
preserve the customer choice long enough for the market to

810
01:02:55.800 --> 01:03:00.079
prove itself. If a technology is truly superior for a

811
01:03:00.079 --> 01:03:04.639
person's needs, it will win. If it isn't ready for

812
01:03:04.719 --> 01:03:08.719
a person's needs, corrosion will turn them into an enemy.

813
01:03:09.599 --> 01:03:13.679
And a nation doesn't get stronger by manufacturing enemies out

814
01:03:13.719 --> 01:03:19.079
of its own citizens. The eighth reform is a hard, honest,

815
01:03:20.199 --> 01:03:25.039
rural and working class readiness test. This is not optional,

816
01:03:25.360 --> 01:03:29.360
this is moral. If you design electrification policy like every

817
01:03:29.639 --> 01:03:33.039
American lives in a suburb with a garage and a

818
01:03:33.039 --> 01:03:37.199
predictable commute, you are writing policy for a fantasy. Rural

819
01:03:37.239 --> 01:03:41.559
America has longer distances, colder winters in many regions, heavier

820
01:03:41.599 --> 01:03:45.719
work requirements, and fewer charging options. Working people pull trailers,

821
01:03:45.840 --> 01:03:49.760
they haul tools, They run on time constraints that don't

822
01:03:49.800 --> 01:03:55.400
care about charging dwell time. So policy must be forced

823
01:03:55.599 --> 01:03:58.960
to answer a basic question before it tightens and expands.

824
01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.599
A normal working family and a rural county live under

825
01:04:04.599 --> 01:04:09.440
this policy without losing freedom, affordability, or safety. If the

826
01:04:09.480 --> 01:04:13.320
answer is no, the policy is not ready period. The

827
01:04:13.440 --> 01:04:18.079
ninth reform is structural discipline instead of infrastructure theater. If

828
01:04:18.159 --> 01:04:24.119
public money builds chargers, those chargers must be reliable, maintained

829
01:04:24.440 --> 01:04:29.159
in place for Americans actually travel. That means fewer ribbon

830
01:04:29.199 --> 01:04:33.719
cuttings and more accountability. It also means a willingness to

831
01:04:33.800 --> 01:04:38.360
admit when a strategy doesn't work. If a vendor repeatedly fails,

832
01:04:38.559 --> 01:04:42.960
they shouldn't keep getting contracts because they know the right

833
01:04:43.000 --> 01:04:48.880
people or hired the right lobbyists. A national buildout must

834
01:04:48.960 --> 01:04:53.480
be run like a serious logistics operation, not a political campaign.

835
01:04:54.239 --> 01:04:59.039
The tenth reform is separating innovation from public and permanent subsidies.

836
01:05:00.039 --> 01:05:03.119
If the goal is to accelerate technology, then fund the market.

837
01:05:04.239 --> 01:05:08.480
Fund with the market under funds research, safety, resilience, and

838
01:05:08.559 --> 01:05:15.840
breakthrough development. Fund pilot programs with measurable outcomes. Fund competition

839
01:05:16.159 --> 01:05:21.039
that rewards performance. But don't build a permanent consumption subsidy

840
01:05:21.400 --> 01:05:25.000
that turns every purchase into a political fight. Because when

841
01:05:25.039 --> 01:05:29.559
your policy depends on constantly feeding the market, you don't

842
01:05:29.599 --> 01:05:34.400
have a transition, you have dependency, and dependencies create political blackmail.

843
01:05:34.960 --> 01:05:39.719
The eleventh reform is a clean strategy for road funding

844
01:05:39.800 --> 01:05:45.280
that respects privacy and fairness. As fuel tax revenues erode,

845
01:05:45.639 --> 01:05:48.440
states will look for alternatives, and some of those alternatives

846
01:05:48.480 --> 01:05:51.480
can be dangerous if they become surveillanced by another name.

847
01:05:52.119 --> 01:05:55.719
If mileage based systems are ever proposed, they must be

848
01:05:55.840 --> 01:06:00.000
voluntary at first, audited and privacy protected with hard limits.

849
01:06:00.639 --> 01:06:05.039
No mission creep, No, we'll just track you for efficiency.

850
01:06:05.239 --> 01:06:08.039
The roads belong to the people, not to the database

851
01:06:08.119 --> 01:06:11.760
that follows you around like a shadow. Fairness matters too.

852
01:06:12.079 --> 01:06:15.400
If EV drivers pay more through fees, that has to

853
01:06:15.440 --> 01:06:18.719
be transparent and tied to actual road use, not as

854
01:06:18.760 --> 01:06:22.800
a punishment tool if gas drivers continue paying fuel taxes,

855
01:06:22.800 --> 01:06:29.320
that should be recognized honesty as well. The twelfth reform

856
01:06:29.559 --> 01:06:32.840
is sunset classes with teeth. This is where America has

857
01:06:32.920 --> 01:06:39.719
to stop lying to itself. Temporary programs rarely stay temporary.

858
01:06:40.679 --> 01:06:48.039
They grow roots, they grow constituencies, they grow lobbyists, and

859
01:06:48.119 --> 01:06:51.760
then they dare anyone to cut them. So if a

860
01:06:51.800 --> 01:06:55.559
subsidy exists, it must have an expiration date in an

861
01:06:55.599 --> 01:06:59.960
automatic reduction schedule. If objectives are met, it winds down.

862
01:07:00.119 --> 01:07:04.320
If objectives aren't met, it ends anyways, and policymakers must

863
01:07:04.360 --> 01:07:08.079
redesign it from scratch rather than endlessly patching a failed system,

864
01:07:09.159 --> 01:07:17.760
just like what they're doing right now with the ACA subsidies.

865
01:07:18.360 --> 01:07:21.960
They just continue to allow this broken system to continue

866
01:07:21.960 --> 01:07:23.639
on and on and on and on and on and

867
01:07:23.679 --> 01:07:25.360
on and on and on and on and on and

868
01:07:25.400 --> 01:07:28.199
on and on and on and on. We can't keep

869
01:07:28.239 --> 01:07:31.159
doing that. It's a broken system. It is time to

870
01:07:31.239 --> 01:07:36.320
end the subsidies and figure out a way to make

871
01:07:36.360 --> 01:07:43.679
a new system to fix its place. We have to

872
01:07:43.719 --> 01:07:48.760
figure out a way to patch our healthcare system. A

873
01:07:48.840 --> 01:07:52.800
system that can't prove results shouldn't get the privilege of permanence.

874
01:07:53.440 --> 01:08:00.639
The thirteenth reform is local empowerment. Because centralized systems breed resentment, states, counties, communities,

875
01:08:01.239 --> 01:08:05.800
They all differ. The grid differs, commutes differ, weather differs,

876
01:08:06.280 --> 01:08:13.199
work needs differ. So federal policy should be set broad

877
01:08:13.360 --> 01:08:17.039
safety and transparency rules, but it should not pretend one

878
01:08:17.079 --> 01:08:21.880
blueprint fits every single American life. Local decision makers are

879
01:08:22.039 --> 01:08:26.880
closer to the consequences. That doesn't guarantee perfection, but it

880
01:08:26.920 --> 01:08:31.520
reduces the distance between policy and pain, and pain is

881
01:08:31.520 --> 01:08:36.560
where accountability lives. The fourteenth reform is cultural honesty, the

882
01:08:36.600 --> 01:08:42.640
one that is uncomfortable, but it's real. If we're going

883
01:08:42.680 --> 01:08:46.680
to ask Americans to transition their transportation system, leaders need

884
01:08:46.760 --> 01:08:49.920
to stop pretending the trade offs don't exist. They need

885
01:08:49.960 --> 01:08:55.279
to stop selling salvation and start selling reality. Reality says

886
01:08:55.319 --> 01:09:00.880
transitions take time, Reality says infrastructure has limits. Reality says

887
01:09:01.560 --> 01:09:07.720
people have a different need. Reality says you don't get

888
01:09:07.760 --> 01:09:11.960
to treat citizens like obstacles and call it democracy. So

889
01:09:12.079 --> 01:09:15.960
the fix is not just policy. The fixes respect and

890
01:09:16.000 --> 01:09:18.239
the whole point of these reforms is to make sure

891
01:09:18.319 --> 01:09:22.239
that if America pursues electrification, it does so in a

892
01:09:22.359 --> 01:09:27.520
way that protects freedom, protects affordability, and punishes fraud while

893
01:09:27.560 --> 01:09:31.079
refusing to let a subsidy class feed on the public.

894
01:09:32.439 --> 01:09:36.079
Because the public is not a piggybang for private ambitions.

895
01:09:36.319 --> 01:09:40.239
The public is the reason governments exist, and when government

896
01:09:40.840 --> 01:09:45.600
forgets that, the people have to remind it. This is

897
01:09:45.640 --> 01:09:49.640
the moment where we stop pretending there is an easy answer.

898
01:09:51.680 --> 01:09:56.399
Because some people want a world where subsidies vanish tomorrow

899
01:09:56.600 --> 01:10:00.279
and the market handles everything, and some people in a

900
01:10:00.319 --> 01:10:05.600
world where the government orchestrates the entire transaction. Every vehicle

901
01:10:05.640 --> 01:10:11.119
is electric, every charger is everywhere, and every dissenting voice

902
01:10:11.159 --> 01:10:14.359
is treated like a threat. Both extremes are a mistake.

903
01:10:15.560 --> 01:10:18.920
The truth is that subsidies have become a permanent feature

904
01:10:19.039 --> 01:10:24.319
of modern governance because politicians love levers. Levers let them

905
01:10:24.359 --> 01:10:29.479
claim credit, levers let them pick winners, and levers let

906
01:10:29.560 --> 01:10:35.439
them build alliances. So the real question isn't will subsidies

907
01:10:35.479 --> 01:10:40.960
ever exist again? The real question is whether we can

908
01:10:41.000 --> 01:10:44.640
build a subsidy light model that doesn't create a permanent

909
01:10:44.680 --> 01:10:49.960
insider class. A subsidy light model starts with a principle

910
01:10:51.000 --> 01:10:58.760
government should not subsidize consumption indefinitely. Government should subsidize barriers

911
01:10:59.279 --> 01:11:03.800
that the market cannot solve quickly, and then get out

912
01:11:03.800 --> 01:11:06.520
of the way. So what does that look like here?

913
01:11:08.000 --> 01:11:11.720
It looks like focusing public funding on infrastructure where a

914
01:11:11.760 --> 01:11:16.640
network effect exists. If charging needs a baseline footprint to

915
01:11:16.640 --> 01:11:20.119
be viable, you fund the baseline, but you tie it

916
01:11:20.279 --> 01:11:24.520
to performance, and you stop paying when the network exists

917
01:11:24.600 --> 01:11:28.560
and private capital can compete. It looks like focusing public

918
01:11:28.640 --> 01:11:34.119
policy on research where private capital under invest because payoffs

919
01:11:34.439 --> 01:11:41.399
are too distant or uncertain. You fund breakthroughs, you fund safety,

920
01:11:42.159 --> 01:11:46.319
you fund grid resilience, and you let businesses compete. It

921
01:11:46.359 --> 01:11:50.680
looks like reducing mandates that function as coercion and replacing

922
01:11:50.720 --> 01:11:54.840
them with standards that are honest, flexible, and paste to

923
01:11:54.920 --> 01:12:00.359
affordability and readiness. Because a transition is not just a

924
01:12:00.439 --> 01:12:06.039
moral goal, it's a logistics operation, and logistics operations fail

925
01:12:07.079 --> 01:12:12.560
when you pretend people are interchangeable units. Now, let's be

926
01:12:12.600 --> 01:12:17.920
even more realistic. Some subsidies can't be eliminated overnight because

927
01:12:17.960 --> 01:12:22.399
they are already baked into industrial planning in long term investment.

928
01:12:23.039 --> 01:12:29.720
If government whiplashes policy every election cycle, industries respond by

929
01:12:29.760 --> 01:12:35.600
lobbying harder, demanding guarantees and building even deeper capture networks.

930
01:12:36.800 --> 01:12:44.279
So way out also requires something cultural. It requires Americans

931
01:12:44.319 --> 01:12:49.159
to demand less theater and more competence. It requires us

932
01:12:49.399 --> 01:12:53.640
to stop rewarding politicians for announcing big promises and start

933
01:12:53.680 --> 01:12:58.560
rewarding them for delivering measurable outcomes. It requires localism again,

934
01:12:59.520 --> 01:13:03.239
the idea. We know that communities can solve problems without

935
01:13:03.319 --> 01:13:07.560
always waiting for federal systems, because one of the reasons

936
01:13:07.600 --> 01:13:16.640
subsidies explode is that local solutions get replaced by centralized programs.

937
01:13:16.760 --> 01:13:23.600
Centralized programs breed complexity, and complexity breeds insiders. Insiders breed

938
01:13:23.640 --> 01:13:28.800
the corruption. So one way out is actually a way

939
01:13:28.800 --> 01:13:33.039
back back to a culture where involuntary community action is

940
01:13:33.079 --> 01:13:38.359
honored again, where private organizations, churches, civic groups, and local

941
01:13:38.399 --> 01:13:45.560
networks help people adapt and thrive without always turning it

942
01:13:45.600 --> 01:13:50.720
into a federal pipeline. That doesn't mean government has no role.

943
01:13:51.159 --> 01:13:56.520
It means government stops trying to be the only role. Now,

944
01:13:56.840 --> 01:14:00.680
let's talk about what it would take to truly reduce

945
01:14:00.720 --> 01:14:05.159
subsidy dependence. It would require a stable regulatory environment that

946
01:14:05.239 --> 01:14:09.479
doesn't require endless intervention to fix the instability that it

947
01:14:09.560 --> 01:14:13.800
created on its own. It would require infrastructure that is

948
01:14:13.840 --> 01:14:18.000
reliable enough that ev adoption where it makes sense can

949
01:14:18.039 --> 01:14:23.479
proceed without constant government nudging. It would require a used

950
01:14:23.520 --> 01:14:29.399
market that becomes truly affordable, not artificially inflated by supplied distortions.

951
01:14:30.720 --> 01:14:34.840
And it would require energy costs that don't crush families.

952
01:14:34.960 --> 01:14:38.840
If electricity gets expensive, the entire promise of lower operating

953
01:14:38.880 --> 01:14:44.600
costs collapse for normal Americans. If road funding becomes punitive,

954
01:14:45.399 --> 01:14:48.960
the sense of fairness collapses. So the way out is

955
01:14:49.000 --> 01:14:52.359
a package. It's not one switch. It's a set of

956
01:14:52.359 --> 01:14:57.640
conditions readiness, affordability, reliability, and trust. And trust is the

957
01:14:57.720 --> 01:15:02.800
hard one because when people don't trust institutions, every policy

958
01:15:02.800 --> 01:15:06.399
feels like a scam, even when it isn't. So how

959
01:15:06.439 --> 01:15:12.399
do you rebuild trust? You punish punitive fraud like it's theft,

960
01:15:13.720 --> 01:15:17.640
You expose back room influence, You simplify the rules, you

961
01:15:17.760 --> 01:15:21.560
show results, and you stop forcing people into timelines that

962
01:15:21.720 --> 01:15:27.119
don't match reality. And you speak to citizens like they're adults,

963
01:15:27.760 --> 01:15:31.600
not obstacles. Now, let's say the part that might disappoint

964
01:15:31.600 --> 01:15:36.920
some listeners, but it's honest. There may be a future

965
01:15:37.399 --> 01:15:41.199
with zero subsidies, but there can be a future where

966
01:15:41.199 --> 01:15:46.439
subsidies are smaller, smarter, and temporary and transparent, where they

967
01:15:46.479 --> 01:15:50.520
don't create a permanent ruling class of consultants and connected corporations.

968
01:15:52.000 --> 01:15:57.119
This is the realistic target, Subsidy light, not subsidy addicted.

969
01:15:57.640 --> 01:16:02.079
And if we want that future, we need a national backbone. Again,

970
01:16:02.359 --> 01:16:04.399
we need the courage to say, if a program can't

971
01:16:04.439 --> 01:16:08.159
justify itself in plain English, it doesn't deserve to exist.

972
01:16:08.479 --> 01:16:11.920
Which brings me to the closing, because this isn't just

973
01:16:11.960 --> 01:16:16.000
a policy debate. This is a moral debate about stewardship,

974
01:16:16.079 --> 01:16:18.880
but what happens with our money, how the government treats

975
01:16:18.960 --> 01:16:23.720
us like piggybanks in working class slaves, so that way

976
01:16:23.720 --> 01:16:27.680
we can fund their pet projects, their pet subsidies, and

977
01:16:27.760 --> 01:16:32.039
help their friends out and their insiders out. Now, let

978
01:16:32.039 --> 01:16:35.000
me slow down right here, because I don't want you

979
01:16:35.079 --> 01:16:38.960
leaving this episode with nothing but anger. Anger has a purpose,

980
01:16:39.479 --> 01:16:43.680
but only when it gets aimed like a tool. If

981
01:16:43.720 --> 01:16:47.359
anger just burns in the chest, it turns into bitterness.

982
01:16:47.560 --> 01:16:51.279
And bitterness is how people give up, how families disengage,

983
01:16:51.399 --> 01:16:56.600
and how communities fracture, and how the worst actors win

984
01:16:56.640 --> 01:17:01.199
by default. So I want you to feel, oh, what's true,

985
01:17:01.439 --> 01:17:04.560
and then I want you to turn it into something constructive.

986
01:17:05.239 --> 01:17:09.920
Here's what's true. Most Americans aren't extremists. They aren't trying

987
01:17:09.960 --> 01:17:14.079
to control their neighbor's life. They are not hoping the

988
01:17:14.159 --> 01:17:17.119
other side suffers. They're not waking up thinking how do

989
01:17:17.239 --> 01:17:21.000
I make the country worse today? Most Americans are trying

990
01:17:21.000 --> 01:17:23.680
to hold their life together. They're trying to be good parents,

991
01:17:23.680 --> 01:17:26.760
They're trying to be faithful husbands and wives. They're trying

992
01:17:26.800 --> 01:17:30.520
to build something that lasts. They're trying to be honest

993
01:17:30.560 --> 01:17:33.560
workers and decent neighbors in a world that feels like

994
01:17:33.640 --> 01:17:37.319
it's getting more expensive and less stable every year. And

995
01:17:37.399 --> 01:17:41.840
when those people hear the word subsidy, they don't just

996
01:17:41.920 --> 01:17:44.920
hear policy. They hear a question. They hear am I

997
01:17:45.000 --> 01:17:50.640
being respected? Am I being used? They hear is my

998
01:17:50.760 --> 01:17:54.159
labor still valued? Or am I just a funding stream

999
01:17:54.199 --> 01:17:57.239
for someone else's agenda? They hear do I still get

1000
01:17:57.239 --> 01:17:59.960
a say? Or is this country going to be engineer

1001
01:18:00.319 --> 01:18:04.479
around me without my consent? That is why this fight

1002
01:18:04.600 --> 01:18:08.560
is so intense, because it isn't only about evs. It's

1003
01:18:08.600 --> 01:18:12.520
about trust, it's about control, It's about dignity. And here's

1004
01:18:12.560 --> 01:18:15.520
the ugliest trick in the modern politics. They train you

1005
01:18:15.840 --> 01:18:18.840
to aim your frustration sideways. They train you to blame

1006
01:18:18.880 --> 01:18:22.760
your neighbor for your problems your neighbor didn't create. They

1007
01:18:22.800 --> 01:18:25.560
train you to fight the guy in the same tax bracket,

1008
01:18:25.800 --> 01:18:29.239
while the people with real influence quietly keep writing the rules.

1009
01:18:30.600 --> 01:18:34.319
So you end up with worker versus worker, town versus town,

1010
01:18:34.800 --> 01:18:38.960
rural versus urban, and red versus blue. And while we're

1011
01:18:38.960 --> 01:18:43.439
busy fighting each other, the subsidy class keeps feeding. They

1012
01:18:43.520 --> 01:18:47.640
keep building systems where money flows out fast, but accountability crawls.

1013
01:18:48.159 --> 01:18:52.239
They keep building the different programs that are too complex

1014
01:18:52.399 --> 01:18:54.960
for the public to audit, and then they act offended

1015
01:18:55.239 --> 01:19:00.640
when citizens ask basic questions. They keep using moral language

1016
01:19:00.640 --> 01:19:03.520
like a shield. And I'm telling you right now, using

1017
01:19:03.680 --> 01:19:06.880
moral language to hide waste is one of the most

1018
01:19:06.920 --> 01:19:12.000
disgusting forms of corruption because it doesn't just steal money,

1019
01:19:12.399 --> 01:19:17.199
It steals virtue. It takes causes people care about and

1020
01:19:17.279 --> 01:19:20.640
turns them into a mask for insider gain. It takes

1021
01:19:20.680 --> 01:19:25.640
compassion and uses it as a cover story. And that

1022
01:19:25.640 --> 01:19:29.680
that's why this episode matters, Because if we don't learn

1023
01:19:29.920 --> 01:19:32.960
to separate honest goals from a corrupt system. We will

1024
01:19:33.039 --> 01:19:37.159
keep repeating the same national tragedy. We will keep building

1025
01:19:37.199 --> 01:19:40.640
programs that start as help and end as empires. We

1026
01:19:40.720 --> 01:19:43.479
will continue watching the middle class get told to adapt

1027
01:19:43.760 --> 01:19:48.840
while the connected get guaranteed outcomes. We will keep turning

1028
01:19:48.920 --> 01:19:54.359
citizens into cynics. And cynicism is dangerous because cynicism tells

1029
01:19:54.399 --> 01:19:58.359
you nothing can be fixed, and citicism tells you corruption

1030
01:19:58.600 --> 01:20:03.039
is inevitable. Cynicism tells you the only option is to

1031
01:20:03.199 --> 01:20:07.079
rage or retreat. But that's a lie. This country was

1032
01:20:07.119 --> 01:20:09.560
not built by cynics. It was built by people who

1033
01:20:09.600 --> 01:20:15.760
believed responsibility mattered, people who believed sacrifice mattered, people who

1034
01:20:15.800 --> 01:20:22.159
believed freedom mattered. And freedom doesn't survive on autopilot. Freedom

1035
01:20:22.199 --> 01:20:27.920
survives when citizens demand competence, when they demand transparency, when

1036
01:20:27.960 --> 01:20:31.640
they demand that programs serve the public instead of serving insiders.

1037
01:20:31.920 --> 01:20:33.680
And here's what I want you to carry out of

1038
01:20:33.720 --> 01:20:37.680
this episode. First, don't hate honest people for playing by

1039
01:20:37.720 --> 01:20:40.720
the rules they were given. Don't turn the ev owner

1040
01:20:40.760 --> 01:20:43.520
into the enemy. Don't turn the family who used a

1041
01:20:43.600 --> 01:20:48.039
credit into a villain. Don't turn this small business trying

1042
01:20:48.079 --> 01:20:55.119
to survive into a target that's not justice that's misdirected frustration. Instead,

1043
01:20:55.720 --> 01:20:59.279
aim your fire at fraud, aimed at waste, aimed at capture,

1044
01:20:59.520 --> 01:21:02.960
aimed at backroom deals. Aim it at any system that

1045
01:21:03.039 --> 01:21:06.920
treats taxpayers like an unlimited resource and treats accountability like

1046
01:21:06.920 --> 01:21:10.239
an inconvenience. And then do the most powerful thing a

1047
01:21:10.279 --> 01:21:15.159
citizen can do. Demand receipts, Ask for performance metrics, ask

1048
01:21:15.239 --> 01:21:20.640
for contract terms, ask for audit results, Ask who influenced

1049
01:21:20.640 --> 01:21:24.840
the rule, Ask what the measurable objective was and whether

1050
01:21:24.960 --> 01:21:28.279
it was achieved. And don't let them shame you for asking.

1051
01:21:28.520 --> 01:21:34.520
In a free country, asking is not rebellion, asking his citizenship. Next,

1052
01:21:35.439 --> 01:21:40.720
refuse the emotional manipulation that says you don't care about

1053
01:21:40.760 --> 01:21:48.279
people and care about accountability at the same time. That

1054
01:21:48.439 --> 01:21:52.199
is the biggest lie sold to the decent Americans. They

1055
01:21:52.239 --> 01:21:54.800
try to trap you. If you criticize a program, they

1056
01:21:54.800 --> 01:21:58.800
call you heartless. If you defend accountability, they call you hateful.

1057
01:21:58.960 --> 01:22:03.079
If you question time, they call you ignorant. No, you

1058
01:22:03.159 --> 01:22:06.840
care about clean air and you can still demand honest math.

1059
01:22:07.279 --> 01:22:10.399
You can support innovation and still refuse corruption. You can

1060
01:22:10.479 --> 01:22:13.640
want America to lead and still protect the working class

1061
01:22:13.680 --> 01:22:18.199
from being priced out of mobility. That's not contradiction. That's maturity.

1062
01:22:18.399 --> 01:22:21.640
And i'll tell you something else that nobody in power

1063
01:22:22.039 --> 01:22:25.520
wants you to realize. The moment you stop being ashamed

1064
01:22:25.600 --> 01:22:29.279
of asking questions is the moment you become harder to control.

1065
01:22:30.279 --> 01:22:34.840
Because control depends on intimidation, it depends on social pressure,

1066
01:22:35.039 --> 01:22:38.920
it depends on making citizens feel like they're unqualified to speak.

1067
01:22:39.960 --> 01:22:42.800
But you are qualified to speak because it's your money,

1068
01:22:43.359 --> 01:22:46.680
it's your roads, it's your grid, it's your market, and

1069
01:22:46.800 --> 01:22:51.159
it is your freedom. So demand a system that respects

1070
01:22:51.199 --> 01:22:55.720
all of those things. Demand a system that doesn't treat

1071
01:22:55.720 --> 01:22:58.520
the middle class like a punchline. Demand a system that

1072
01:22:58.560 --> 01:23:03.119
doesn't use complexity aflage, and demand a system where fraud

1073
01:23:03.279 --> 01:23:09.000
gets punished fast and publicly, because fraud is theft. And

1074
01:23:09.079 --> 01:23:12.439
here's the unifying truth that can actually pull this country

1075
01:23:12.560 --> 01:23:15.720
back together. The honest, working people on every side of

1076
01:23:15.720 --> 01:23:19.359
the political map want the same thing. They want fairness,

1077
01:23:19.439 --> 01:23:22.279
they want dignity. They want a chance to build a

1078
01:23:22.319 --> 01:23:25.319
life without being crushed by systems that they did not create.

1079
01:23:25.960 --> 01:23:29.560
They want leadership that doesn't lie. They want progress that

1080
01:23:29.640 --> 01:23:35.720
doesn't punish. They want help that doesn't get hijacked. And

1081
01:23:35.800 --> 01:23:38.800
you don't get that by tearing each other apart. You

1082
01:23:38.880 --> 01:23:42.920
get that by standing shoulder to shoulder and saying, we're

1083
01:23:42.920 --> 01:23:47.199
done with funding corruption. We are done being talked down to,

1084
01:23:47.560 --> 01:23:50.680
We are done being treated like a revenue stream. We

1085
01:23:50.720 --> 01:23:54.079
are done letting insiders build a country we can't afford

1086
01:23:54.079 --> 01:23:57.279
to live in. So tonight, take the anger you felt

1087
01:23:57.399 --> 01:24:00.960
and turn it into action. Share the episode, Talk to

1088
01:24:01.000 --> 01:24:04.840
people respectfully, bring them into the conversation. Demand that your

1089
01:24:04.920 --> 01:24:09.479
leaders show you the receipts. Because accountability is not cruelty.

1090
01:24:09.960 --> 01:24:12.960
Accountability is love for your country in a form that

1091
01:24:13.119 --> 01:24:17.560
actually protects it. And that's where we end, because it's

1092
01:24:17.600 --> 01:24:20.520
the line that tells you the truth without inviting the nation.

1093
01:24:21.119 --> 01:24:25.039
This isn't about left versus right, It's about right versus wrong.

1094
01:24:27.159 --> 01:24:29.720
If this episode hit a nerve, do me a favor.

1095
01:24:30.680 --> 01:24:33.479
Don't just feel it. Share it. Send it to a

1096
01:24:33.479 --> 01:24:35.600
friend who's tired of being talked down to, Send it

1097
01:24:35.680 --> 01:24:37.640
to a co worker who's trying to buy a vehicle

1098
01:24:37.720 --> 01:24:40.520
right now and feels trapped. Send it to someone who

1099
01:24:40.600 --> 01:24:44.720
thinks the whole debate is just politics, because it's not.

1100
01:24:45.159 --> 01:24:48.439
This is the cost of living, freedom and fairness. If

1101
01:24:48.479 --> 01:24:52.479
you got value from this, take thirty seconds and leave

1102
01:24:52.520 --> 01:24:57.039
a rating in a review wherever you listen. That's how

1103
01:24:57.079 --> 01:25:00.359
this show reaches people who feel alone in these questions.

1104
01:25:01.039 --> 01:25:04.399
Make sure you're subscribed to so you don't miss the

1105
01:25:04.439 --> 01:25:08.479
next episode in the Subsidization series, because we're going to

1106
01:25:08.600 --> 01:25:13.960
keep pulling back the curtain program by program until Americans

1107
01:25:13.960 --> 01:25:17.880
can see the machine very clearly and clearly enough to

1108
01:25:17.960 --> 01:25:22.720
reform it. And follow along on every platform so you

1109
01:25:22.720 --> 01:25:29.640
can stay plugged in between episodes. Follow us on x, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok,

1110
01:25:29.720 --> 01:25:34.840
and rumble, and as always, support your sponsor Valerbilt Apperil.

1111
01:25:35.359 --> 01:25:39.279
If you believe in integrity, community, patriotism, faith and doing

1112
01:25:39.279 --> 01:25:42.720
the right thing without waiting for bureaucracy, go check out

1113
01:25:42.800 --> 01:25:46.359
Valerbilts and wear something that reminds you of who you are,

1114
01:25:48.159 --> 01:25:51.159
because this series exists for one reason to inform you,

1115
01:25:51.439 --> 01:25:54.520
to impollwer you, to strengthen you, and to remind you

1116
01:25:54.560 --> 01:25:57.399
that this country doesn't belong to the insiders. It belongs

1117
01:25:57.439 --> 01:26:00.800
to the people who work, build and sacrifice and refuse

1118
01:26:00.880 --> 01:26:03.960
to give up. I'll see you on the next one.

1119
01:26:04.800 --> 01:26:05.680
Have a good night, guys,