Letters to the Editor: Instead of subsidizing EVs, put a surcharge on all gas cars
![An electric vehicle charges its battery at a public station](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e1971aa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1886x1060+0+0/resize/1200x674!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb5%2Faf%2F2ac0230844ff83dbe6d1869a2c6d%2Fimg-0705-1.jpg)
An electric vehicle is charged at a public station in San Diego in 2022.
(Rob Nikolewski / San Diego Union-Tribune)
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To the editor: Electric vehicles are mainstream but not yet ubiquitous, as they need to be. It’s time we flipped the script. (“California scales back EV rebates to focus on lower-income car buyers,” Sept. 11)
Rather than thinking in terms of EV subsidies, we should be imposing a surcharge on the purchase of gasoline-powered vehicles to pay for the environmental damage they will do over their lifespan. The proceeds could be used to improve charging infrastructure, or to continue to subsidize low-income EV purchasers, as the state’s new program does.
Such a surcharge could eliminate the price difference between EVs and gas-powered cars at no cost to taxpayers.
Bob Deen, Altadena