I like electric vehicles. Innovations in the automotive sector have been truly remarkable in recent years, and it’s no wonder people are beginning to purchase them.
One of my favorite movies is “Back to the Future.” When it came out in 1985 and we heard Doc Brown talking about his flux capacitor, the idea that a car could drive and navigate itself powered by electricity seemed like it would always be science fiction. Today, the free market has brought this to fruition. We don’t have flying DeLoreans, but at the rate we’re going I won’t rule them out in my lifetime.
But while EVs are an awesome improvement in automotive technology, don’t tell me and other Mainers that we’re required to purchase one.
Supporting the innovation behind EVs and forcing people to buy them are two different concepts. There is no need to suppress consumer choice and compel the transition to electric vehicles that is already underway in the marketplace without government coercion.
Click here to read policy analyst Jessica Nickerson’s full op-ed in the Portland Press Herald.