MoreOur government is bound and determined to tell us how to live our lives. They will give money to the automakers but only if the automakers will build hybrid cars like the Japanese competitors. Unfortunately, they ignored the fact that Toyota is holding up on building a hybrid plant here because these are not selling. In the meantime, pundits from many corners are preaching the end of the automobile industry.
One would think that political leaders would be aware of history and the lessons learned. At least, they should have been learned. Today, we are highly dependant on our automobiles to get us to the destinations we need to attend. However, just over 100 years ago, society was just as dependant on horses. Major cities had horse drawn taxis and buses.
Consider the plight of one major city, London, England. Records indicate that around 1890, there were over 11,000 horse-drawn taxis and several thousand buses that roamed the streets. Also, unknown numbers of individuals traveled by horse. Estimates are that over 100,000 horses would be on the streets of London on any given day.Not every horse had a bucket that was effective at gathering the average of 25 pounds of manure produced by each animal. That is well over 1,000 tons each day. That was the reason every home had metal boot scrapers installed at the door to their homes.
Journalists today, just like those in 1890, like to scare the public. I think politicians take their clues from them as well. A journalist in 1894 wrote that in 50 years, London streets would be buried under 9 feet of manure. A pretty grim mental image.
But, natural market forces being what they have always been changed the course of society and within 35 years, there were no horses on the streets. I would bet that if we looked we could find that conspirators at the turn of the century proclaimed that livery stable owners and saddle makers were obstructing the marketing of better ideas. Just passing a law that says all cars will be powered by hydrogen by 2016 will not make it so. In fact, costs will continue to soar and the poor will suffer. If we let the market do its work, the mother of invention will find the proper solution.
Who knows, maybe it will be a system of enclosed elevated, moving walkways?
One would think that political leaders would be aware of history and the lessons learned. At least, they should have been learned. Today, we are highly dependant on our automobiles to get us to the destinations we need to attend. However, just over 100 years ago, society was just as dependant on horses. Major cities had horse drawn taxis and buses.
Consider the plight of one major city, London, England. Records indicate that around 1890, there were over 11,000 horse-drawn taxis and several thousand buses that roamed the streets. Also, unknown numbers of individuals traveled by horse. Estimates are that over 100,000 horses would be on the streets of London on any given day.Not every horse had a bucket that was effective at gathering the average of 25 pounds of manure produced by each animal. That is well over 1,000 tons each day. That was the reason every home had metal boot scrapers installed at the door to their homes.
Journalists today, just like those in 1890, like to scare the public. I think politicians take their clues from them as well. A journalist in 1894 wrote that in 50 years, London streets would be buried under 9 feet of manure. A pretty grim mental image.
But, natural market forces being what they have always been changed the course of society and within 35 years, there were no horses on the streets. I would bet that if we looked we could find that conspirators at the turn of the century proclaimed that livery stable owners and saddle makers were obstructing the marketing of better ideas. Just passing a law that says all cars will be powered by hydrogen by 2016 will not make it so. In fact, costs will continue to soar and the poor will suffer. If we let the market do its work, the mother of invention will find the proper solution.
Who knows, maybe it will be a system of enclosed elevated, moving walkways?
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