Sorry, But Joe Biden Can’t Build Your EV Charger
The White House and Congress can’t just brute-force a nationwide system the way the country launched an interstate highway system.
Tax breaks and subsidies make infrastructure happen.
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
Picture a future of electric cars everywhere, including your driveway, along with the charging stations necessary to keep them running. Head downtown to mail a letter and pick up a latte? Slow chargers on every corner. Go to the mall to raid the Sephora? Chargers all over the parking garage. Go to work? There’s a place to plug in your car. Take a highway trip, say to visit an annoying family member, let’s call him Steve? You’ll pass Wawa fast-charging islands where gas pumps used to be. You might want to stop at one of those because, when you get to Steve’s house, he probably won’t let you use his charger. Classic Steve!
Now try to imagine how much of this omnipresent web of charging infrastructure was built and maintained by the federal government — or rather, how much would you want all of this to be built and maintained by the federal government?