Obama stripped all that away and made it impossible to turn down any student loans. It was just an embezzlement scheme underwritten by the taxpayers.
Was this around the same time interest in student loans jumped significantly as well? I seem to recall interest rates were relatively low and then abruptly increased. Not only are today's students racking up big loans for tuition and fees as part of the spiraling costs of college, they're paying more in student loan interest which leaves less to pay down the principal. "Loans For All" really caused more problems than it solved.
I'd forgotten about how rental companies went all in on EVs a few years back and ended up holding the bag with thousands of cars that nobody wanted to rent.
I seem to recall stories where unsuspecting customers had no idea their only options were EVs when they didn't want them. Worse, I believe many were never told the essential differences between EVs and regular vehicles nor were they told when, where or how to recharge them. Word spread fast and people made their displeasure known by refusing to preselect EVs and trying to avoid the rental companies that offered nothing but them. Unfortunately, the powers that be still think people want EVs despite evidence to the contrary and the lack of sufficient infrastructure.
They are basically garbage in a couple years. So it is not that difficult to pick one up used. Just enjoy trying to replace the electric shit when it burns out: fun fact, you won't.
The current versions of EVs are money pits. They cost so much more unless one buys a cheap, crappy, used model. Repairs and maintenance, even if less frequent, cost more because the specialized parts are so expensive (I believe I've heard new battery packs are 10k to 20k each!). This is all before hearing about the software-related issues that require more over the air updates than someone running Windows 11.
EVs are retarded, at least right now. They take a long time to charge, your travel plans have to revolve around the location of chargers within your range, and I’m not sure if all EVs can use all the chargers out there.
A hybrid is far superior,
Proprietary charging equipment and systems has been a huge issue with charging on the road. For all the talk about having universal standards, I'm not sure how much progress has been made in the US where proprietary standards rule.
A lot of people I know would prefer hybrids over EVs if forced to choose one over the other because of the perception hybrids are a decent balance between regular vehicles and EVs. My guess is people like the idea of being able to still fuel up when (re)charging isn't the best option for a long time and know they can get much better gas mileage in the process. Unfortunately, this makes sense and bureaucracy won't consider anything with an ounce of practicality.
Because RG acts on his impulses, he will never consider any of the above when it comes to EVs and select one if it's the best or only choice in the here and now without regard to the headaches associated with EVs that will pop up in both the short and long-term future.