Getting it Right - Welcome

The goal of this blog is to publish my thoughts on a variety of economic and political topics in the hopes that people who find them educational or beneficial will utilize them and/or forward to others who might find them interesting and/or worthwhile to promote to others, possibly including politicians who can push some of these ideas to fruition. The topics in my blog are meant to be of value on a long term basis, not a daily diary or political issue of the day log. If the information posted is useful to you, by all means utilize it and/or forward it as you see fit. If not useful, then merely ignore it. There are no universally agreed upon truisms and too little tolerance between some of those with opposing viewpoints to successfully convince the people with hardened opinions to move away from them. I am an analytical type person who will try to be as factual as I am able.

I disdain the current popularity of name calling and condemnation of viewpoints with no factual alternatives or logical solutions given that I see so often. If you don't have a solution based on fact and logic, then opt out of the discussion because you have nothing to contribute. My background is a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and 39 years working in middle management jobs for a major retailer. My opinions are forged on the personal experence of life, family, friends, and work as well as triumphs and mistakes that I have made and hopefully learned from. My hope is that this blog helps you.

My first topic will be about personal finance. I chose that one first because most of us work long and hard just to survive but not all of us realize our dreams of becoming financially independent from the labors of our work. Much of our political votes/thinking also focus on the economy and in particular how well we are personally doing financially.

It is relatively simple, without sacrificing the enjoyment of living for 'today' and even at moderate incomes, to retire as a millionaire or multi-millionaire, if you focus on that goal consistently from a young age. It is also simple to ensure that your child or grandchild retires rich. It merely requires a one time gift of just $2,000 invested wisely and the passage of time. Please read my first post on this blog to learn more.


Getting it right on Politics, Economics, and Personal Finance

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Blog Archive

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

The Many Problems with Electric Vehicles

1. Electric Vehicles are much more expensive to purchase. They also depreciate much faster than gas powered vehicles (see point 2 for a good reason why).

2. EV batteries last 10 to 12 years and costs many thousands of dollars, even tens of thousands of dollars to replace.

3. EVs are much heavier and can present a towing problem.

4. A total switch to EVs would over power our nation's electric grid leading to blackouts. Plus the necessary nationwide infrastructure for recharging EVs on the road (instead of just at home) is nowhere near viable at this time.

5. Raw materials needed for batteries are extracted at a high human and environmental toll. This includes, for example, child labor, health and safety hazards in informal work, poverty and pollution. Batteries require a lot of minerals, and that means a lot of mining and transporting of materials. According to mining and energy specialist Mark Mills, a thousand-pound electric car battery requires the moving of 500,000 pounds of earth in the course of mining.

6. A recycling challenge looms over the eleven million tones of spent lithium-ion batteries forecast to be discarded by 2030, with few systems in place to enable reuse and recycling in a circular economy for batteries.

7. Safety, Fires can start at any time. Even flood waters can set them off. It’s harder to impossible to put out the fire of EVs. When the battery is on fire, it’s absolutely inaccessible to fire suppressants like water. There is also a chance of re-ignition without sufficient cooling, which can lead to a long-lasting fire.

8. Reliability. Consumer Reports named electric SUVs the least-reliable vehicle type. The most common EV problem areas were "in-car electronics, noises and leaks, power equipment, climate system, body hardware, drive system, and paint and trim," the report said.

9. Dependence on China whose intent is to dominate us and the rest of the world economically - The materials and parts for EVs plus the materials for finished products for solar and wind power come from China and thus threaten the future stability of our national Energy needs.


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