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A comment on China Has Whole Towns Focused on Making Electric Cars. Parent comment

Re:China Has Whole Towns Focused on Making Electric Cars by loudmax on Monday June 03, 2019 @10:20AM (#20083333)
The executive branch of the federal government is absolutely committed to "clean" coal, the solar industry has plateaued, and immigration is down. Tesla is struggling, but I agree that "close to bankruptcy" is hyperbole.

The GP makes a legitimate point that China's progressive policies are helping to propel the country forward. In the US, progress toward the industries of the future is happening despite government policies, not because of them.

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Re:China Has Whole Towns Focused on Making Electric Cars by duxup on Monday June 03, 2019 @10:42AM (#20083577)
The executive branch and even congress to some extent has been committed to clean coal ever since the idea has come about.....

And yet coal plants are shutting down and production slowing.

Most of that "committed" has been throwing some money at research for political reasons, but I don't think there has been a REAL political effort to push coal for much of it as much as gather some votes with some funding and vocal support .... and just let the chips fall where they may.

I think there's a vast range of possibilities when it comes to "support" from elected officials and "control" of a market or such.

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Re:China Has Whole Towns Focused on Making Electric Cars by dsfyu404ed on Monday June 03, 2019 @10:31AM (#20083451)
>In the US, progress toward the industries of the future is happening despite government policies, not because of them.

So?

In any democracy government is going to lag the population/private sector when it comes to basically everything because you need more agreement before doing anything than you do in a private cooperation or authoritarian government system so the government winds up deadlocked or going back and fourth on an issue until a strong consensus emerges.

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Re:China Has Whole Towns Focused on Making Electric Cars by bryanlarsen on Monday June 03, 2019 @10:38AM (#20083533)
But it's the government's job to ensure that externalities are captured. Without that, the market is going to continue to exploit that rather than finding efficient solutions to minimize those externalities.
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