Back Print Commentary By Editorial Board - The
Washington Times - Thursday, June 1, 2023 OPINION: Two nonprofit groups, the
American Energy Alliance and the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, recently sponsored a nationwide survey of 1,000 likely voters on energy issues. The results may be surprising to those in Washington who are pretty confident that voters are mostly aligned with the left on environmental issues. It turns out the voters may not be. Let us offer just a few of the highlights. Unlike the environmental class in the nation’s capital, climate change isn’t a priority for most voters. Just 28 of 1,000 respondents (2.8%) identified climate change as the most pressing issue facing the
United States. That doesn’t seem like a lot for something that has been described as an existential threat by people on the left for much of the last 30 years. It is also not a lot compared with the 55% that identified the
economy as either the most or second most important issue facing the country at the moment. Given voters’ emphasis on the economy, it is not surprising that they are resistant to giving the government any of their cash. When the survey asked voters what they would pay each year to address climate change, the median response was $20, and 35% (including 15% of self-identified Democrats) said they are unwilling to pay anything at all. Similarly, voters rejected a tax on carbon dioxide by 44 percentage points. They rejected an electric vehicle mandate — just like the one the Biden administration is trying to impose using federal miles-per-gallon standards — by more than 50 points. Voters are also hostile to the White House’s related and looming ban on gasoline-powered cars and trucks, rejecting that idea by 72 points. In many instances, voters are ahead of their leaders. For example, when asked about an electric vehicle mandate, 81% of respondents said that it would cause electricity prices to rise. When asked about China’s domination of the electric vehicle supply chain, 64% said they were very concerned. There is no telling why we are still waiting for
Congress to do a few basic things with respect to
China (e.g., banning TikTok), let alone complicated things such as solving the problem of supply chains that go through genocidal, slaving China. Electric vehicles, which need minerals — about 80% of which are owned or controlled by China — are going to create and eventually accelerate U.S. dependence on our most aggressive adversary. Voters see that; the Biden administration seems blind to it. Finally — and this is one set of responses that should surprise no one — voters don’t trust the government very much. About 70% said they did not trust the federal government to decide what kind of cars should be subsidized or mandated. No telling what the other 30% are thinking. An even greater percentage (80%) have the crazy notion that they should make their own decisions about the cars, trucks and fuels they buy rather than letting the government “help” them with those decisions. This survey gives us a peek into what voters really think about energy, the (un)importance of climate change, how little voters are prepared to pay to address it, and their unwillingness to surrender their autonomy and their decisions to the federal government. Energy is freedom, and abundant and affordable energy gives us the mobility to go where we want and do what we want and live the kind of lives we have imagined for ourselves and our loved ones. All of that is why the Biden administration and its allies have spent the last 2½ years doing everything in their power to make energy less abundant and more expensive. The good news is that the voters understand this. The results of the survey are a refreshing reminder that most Americans still cherish their freedom and the energy and mobility that maximizes that freedom. Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission . Please read our comment policy before commenting. Click to Read More and View Comments Click to Hide