Quote: @Waterboy said:
@ purplefaithful said:
@ badgervike said:
@ purplefaithful said:
I do have to wonder if the post covid economic conditions would have happened under either Biden or Trump v2.0?
I would argue that inflation and other issues plaguing the economy were ripe (and were going to happen) regardless of who was sleeping in the White House.
OTOH, I suspect many are quite happy looking at their personal portfolio net worth and 401k's these days. Hence the hefty spending by Americans inspite of inflation.
The economy (and Wall St) will probably take off more in about Q3 if the Feds lower rates.
To make that argument, you'd have to make comparisons in policy. The largest contributor to inflation by far is/was the 70% rise in Energy costs which permeates through the economy. You think that was caused by Covid related economic conditions or by Biden's war on fossil fuels?
I'm not well versed enough to speculate whether a war on fossil fuels drove all or some of the energy cost spikes.
EV vehicle sales are up vs y.ago but well below estimates in the US. Even in liberal Western Europe, there is a big shift in the timing of EV adoption. I think alot was grandstanding/politics.
Plus there's plenty of speculators on oil barrel prices, opec, seasonality etc. that can cause prices to go up or down. Thats about as much as I can articulate.
If you want inflation to spike, the first thing you do is mess with your energy supply. It's only common sense that every other single item is reliant on energy, even services. Biden's war on fossil fuels was predicted by Trump, and it isn't the sole cause of inflation, but it's the biggest cause of inflation.
Not biggest but a contributor for sure. Most of the rise in inflation in 2021 and 2022 was driven by developments that directly raised prices rather than wages, including sharp increases in global commodity prices and sectoral price spikes driven by a combination of pandemic-induced kinks in supply chains and a huge shift in demand during the pandemic to goods from services. Fiscal policy contributed to the inflation, but primarily through its effects on consumer demand for commodities and goods in limited supply rather than through the labor market.
People have lost their minds by continuing to buy and put themselves in debt during this high inflation. Reduce demand, increase supply works everytime....except today with people going YOLO over everything.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
If you want inflation to spike, the first thing you do is mess with your energy supply. It's only common sense that every other single item is reliant on energy, even services. Biden's war on fossil fuels was predicted by Trump, and it isn't the sole cause of inflation, but it's the biggest cause of inflation.
Not biggest but a contributor for sure. Most of the rise in inflation in 2021 and 2022 was driven by developments that directly raised prices rather than wages, including sharp increases in global commodity prices and sectoral price spikes driven by a combination of pandemic-induced kinks in supply chains and a huge shift in demand during the pandemic to goods from services. Fiscal policy contributed to the inflation, but primarily through its effects on consumer demand for commodities and goods in limited supply rather than through the labor market.
People have lost their minds by continuing to buy and put themselves in debt during this high inflation. Reduce demand, increase supply works everytime....except today with people going YOLO over everything.
That article you quoted from the Brookings Institute is a year old and was a look back at the end of the pandemic ('21 into "22). Most of the findings aren't the same anymore as supply chain issues have by and large resolved themselves and services are once again in demand now that people can get out and use services again.
Consumer prices are up 25% since the pandemic and much of that is indeed related to energy prices as energy permeates virtually every aspect the consumer marketplace including the price at the pump. That's almost unimaginable that prices are up that much over the inflated pandemic prices. Whether it be higher shipping costs for goods and materials or higher cost of plastics/petroleum based products or higher cost for health and beauty or higher cost of energy for factories and plants, oil prices are the driving factor in our current inflationary period. For those old enough, what was the highest period of inflation you've seen and what did it have in common with our current situation? That would be the Carter years and the previous war on fossil fuels. I'm not saying the efforts aren't well intended...but they are very short sighted and do have consequences.
Quote: @badgervike said:
@ StickyBun said:
If you want inflation to spike, the first thing you do is mess with your energy supply. It's only common sense that every other single item is reliant on energy, even services. Biden's war on fossil fuels was predicted by Trump, and it isn't the sole cause of inflation, but it's the biggest cause of inflation.
Not biggest but a contributor for sure. Most of the rise in inflation in 2021 and 2022 was driven by developments that directly raised prices rather than wages, including sharp increases in global commodity prices and sectoral price spikes driven by a combination of pandemic-induced kinks in supply chains and a huge shift in demand during the pandemic to goods from services. Fiscal policy contributed to the inflation, but primarily through its effects on consumer demand for commodities and goods in limited supply rather than through the labor market.
People have lost their minds by continuing to buy and put themselves in debt during this high inflation. Reduce demand, increase supply works everytime....except today with people going YOLO over everything.
That article you quoted from the Brookings Institute is a year old and was a look back at the end of the pandemic ('21 into "22). Most of the findings aren't the same anymore as supply chain issues have by and large resolved themselves and services are once again in demand now that people can get out and use services again.
Consumer prices are up 25% since the pandemic and much of that is indeed related to energy prices as energy permeates virtually every aspect the consumer marketplace including the price at the pump. Whether it be higher shipping costs for goods and materials or higher cost of plastics/petroleum based products or higher cost for health and beauty or higher cost of energy for factories and plants, oil prices are the driving factor in our current inflationary period. For those old enough, what was the highest period of inflation you've seen and what did it have in common with our current situation? That would be the Carter years and the previous war on fossil fuels. I'm not saying the efforts aren't well intended...but they are very short sighted and do have consequences.
lets also look at other things like hours of service for the drivers, cut down the number of hours that drivers can run per day, requires more drivers to move the same amount of material, which means more costs for the companies moving all the goods, then lets look at what the wage escalations have done, pay people to stay at home means you have to raise wages to get more people to work. Some still live in a fantasy world where corporations just eat all these increased costs and taxes, they dont seem to understand that they just get passed onto the consumer and eventually are harming those that we supposed to be getting the relief in the first place... which just leads to more ignorant gov't spending to offset the inflation that it was responsible for in the first place.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@"
construction workers too, farmers are at least able to use a federal program to bring in workers from other countries, not as easy for other industries.
The problem is the immigration policy is upside down. I have a friend who has a hospitality business in the Wisconsin Dells. They obviously had to mothball during Covid but are trying to reopen. They have historically hired seasonal help from Eastern Europe but are unable to do that this year due to immigration issues. There aren't enough US college aged kids in the tourist area to compete with the rest of the businesses in the area. He's being told Homeland Security has no resources to vet and process summer worker visas because their resources are being diverted to the border for "asylum" seekers.
We can all agree that we need immigrant labor to supplement the US labor force particularly in low unemployment times. Maybe we should secure the border and instead go back to concentrating on work visas for agriculture, for hospitality, for manufacturing/processing...etc? It would seem to me that bringing in who we want for jobs we want filled should be a priority.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ badgervike said:
@ StickyBun said:
If you want inflation to spike, the first thing you do is mess with your energy supply. It's only common sense that every other single item is reliant on energy, even services. Biden's war on fossil fuels was predicted by Trump, and it isn't the sole cause of inflation, but it's the biggest cause of inflation.
Not biggest but a contributor for sure. Most of the rise in inflation in 2021 and 2022 was driven by developments that directly raised prices rather than wages, including sharp increases in global commodity prices and sectoral price spikes driven by a combination of pandemic-induced kinks in supply chains and a huge shift in demand during the pandemic to goods from services. Fiscal policy contributed to the inflation, but primarily through its effects on consumer demand for commodities and goods in limited supply rather than through the labor market.
People have lost their minds by continuing to buy and put themselves in debt during this high inflation. Reduce demand, increase supply works everytime....except today with people going YOLO over everything.
That article you quoted from the Brookings Institute is a year old and was a look back at the end of the pandemic ('21 into "22). Most of the findings aren't the same anymore as supply chain issues have by and large resolved themselves and services are once again in demand now that people can get out and use services again.
Consumer prices are up 25% since the pandemic and much of that is indeed related to energy prices as energy permeates virtually every aspect the consumer marketplace including the price at the pump. Whether it be higher shipping costs for goods and materials or higher cost of plastics/petroleum based products or higher cost for health and beauty or higher cost of energy for factories and plants, oil prices are the driving factor in our current inflationary period. For those old enough, what was the highest period of inflation you've seen and what did it have in common with our current situation? That would be the Carter years and the previous war on fossil fuels. I'm not saying the efforts aren't well intended...but they are very short sighted and do have consequences.
lets also look at other things like hours of service for the drivers, cut down the number of hours that drivers can run per day, requires more drivers to move the same amount of material, which means more costs for the companies moving all the goods, then lets look at what the wage escalations have done, pay people to stay at home means you have to raise wages to get more people to work. Some still live in a fantasy world where corporations just eat all these increased costs and taxes, they dont seem to understand that they just get passed onto the consumer and eventually are harming those that we supposed to be getting the relief in the first place... which just leads to more ignorant gov't spending to offset the inflation that it was responsible for in the first place.
We have seen a 35% increase for corporate profits over the last 4 years (Dec 19 to Dec 23). They are charging more because they can and reaping the benefits.
Either they are going to shoot for lower profits by lowering prices OR we tax them a rate equal or higher to what people are taxed at. Aren't corporations people now? When we built the infrastructure of the greatest economy in the world, corporate tax rates were 50%, in the 90s they were 25%, now? 13%
If the top 1% paid their required taxes they owed that would pull in $175billion into the economy. THat's not NEW taxes or raising tax rates, that is requiring them to pay what they owe without loopholes (funded and setup for themselves)
The power is in the hands of few who can price gouge with no repercussions and rake in billions of record profits
Quote: @Waterboy said:
@ purplefaithful said:
@ badgervike said:
@ purplefaithful said:
I do have to wonder if the post covid economic conditions would have happened under either Biden or Trump v2.0?
I would argue that inflation and other issues plaguing the economy were ripe (and were going to happen) regardless of who was sleeping in the White House.
OTOH, I suspect many are quite happy looking at their personal portfolio net worth and 401k's these days. Hence the hefty spending by Americans inspite of inflation.
The economy (and Wall St) will probably take off more in about Q3 if the Feds lower rates.
To make that argument, you'd have to make comparisons in policy. The largest contributor to inflation by far is/was the 70% rise in Energy costs which permeates through the economy. You think that was caused by Covid related economic conditions or by Biden's war on fossil fuels?
I'm not well versed enough to speculate whether a war on fossil fuels drove all or some of the energy cost spikes.
EV vehicle sales are up vs y.ago but well below estimates in the US. Even in liberal Western Europe, there is a big shift in the timing of EV adoption. I think alot was grandstanding/politics.
Plus there's plenty of speculators on oil barrel prices, opec, seasonality etc. that can cause prices to go up or down. Thats about as much as I can articulate.
If you want inflation to spike, the first thing you do is mess with your energy supply. It's only common sense that every other single item is reliant on energy, even services. Biden's war on fossil fuels was predicted by Trump, and it isn't the sole cause of inflation, but it's the biggest cause of inflation.
Take out the subsidies for fossil fuels and calculate the costs of impacts due to fossil fuels. Get to the real cost of energy.
Quote: @badgervike said:
I have a guy that has worked for me for 30 years. He's pushing 70 years old. He's an "Independent" as well although he's never voted for anybody but a Democrat in his lifetime even for a low level local candidate. He likes to talk politics as we're both "independents". It makes me smile every time. For some reason, he feels the necessity to tell me who he voted for and why...like I somehow don't know he voted straight Democrat. The last election, the issue that swayed him to vote for the Democratic Governor was based on education issues. The Democrat had been the State Education commissioner prior to becoming Governor. Mind you...my friend/employee and his wife never had kids and can't stand to be around children...but he had to tell me that Education was the most important issue and swayed his vote to the Democrat. Have to admit, I broke into laughter on that one.
Z - I know you used to be Independent as we were once fairly tightly in alignment out of disdain for the major parties. These days, your disdain is only directed at Republicans. I know you've made some comments regarding the far left local politics in the past but I didn't see anything recently. Based on your post above, I went back and searched the last year and didn't find anything on the Democrats except for a few comments about the "Traitorous" major parties...which is usually followed up by specifics on Republicans and/or Trump. You have thrown out a few "Sleepy Joe" comments which just doesn't have the witty venom of the comments related to Trump and Republicans. You certainly haven't started a thread to call him out like you have multiple times on Trump. I may have missed some...but frankly got bored along the way digging through the archives and finding exactly what I had remembered.
I've never been sure why the guy that works for me always describes himself as an Independent when he's clearly not. I think he believes it gives him some street cred. I think that may be the case with you although certainly you've at least has a history of Independence. I'm not sure why you don't acknowledge the fact that your politics have drifted left and you're more a Democrat these days.
The US was in much better shape (pre-Covid) under Trump (economy, border, crime, drugs, global standing) under Trump. That still doesn't garner my vote. It appears we're stuck with Trump, Biden and Kennedy..assuming he gets the Libertarian nod in May. I've never been quite sure which Kennedy will show up. At times, the dude makes a lot of sense...but there are times he's pretty far out there.
In a two way race, I will hold my nose and vote for Trump because results matter. In a three way vote...we'll have to wait and see.
Had to laugh when you talk about Trump's history of racism and disrespect for the soldiers...I think if you took an "independent" view of the situation...you'll find much more troubling instances from Biden.
They're both dirtbags with their own issues. Their both narcissists. Frankly, I think you have to be a narcissist to run for President. I asked you to call out Biden specifically for some of his issues...but the independent in you only has eyes for one...lol.
One last time...:would New York charge and prosecute anybody but Donald Trump for his victimless crimes? Was it wrong to spy on candidate Trump with no justification? You seem to imply it's his fault for not going away quietly.
Allow me a bit of clarification: Trumplestilskin keeps populating my news feeds, as do his strange lot of defenders, with new issues/babble/etc. Sleepy Joe and the West Coast commie collective keep doing what they're doing, which doesn't even get the area conservatives to make many new grumbles; it's the same-old, same-old.
I'll also admit that my main, numero uno, completely snarling beef with "Sleepy Joe" is polarizing enough that I don't know if I should bring it here (which limits much of my political discourse here, believe it or not): his full-on betrayal of both Israel and the United States to the "pro-Palestine" agencies. I'm seeing an absolute horror show, the modern left has become an apologist PR firm for rapists, necrophiliacs, torturers, murderers, kidnappers, and...thousands of their sympathizers that are increasingly, brazenly harassing citizens, businesses, airports, and more throughout the Western world.
I'm pissed off enough about this that I sent a straight-up demand of resignation to whitehouse.gov, citing his mollycoddling of said filth, and his inaction allowing urban America to become an Arab-flavored version of 1930's Germany. I'm sure I'm on even more lists that I already was.
I don't unpack bigger stuff like that here, much. It's a football board, a Vikings fan site. Yes, I'll jump in a start an occasional thread if something is burning up the front of my brain, but...the overly impassioned political discourse led to a "culling" here, previously, and created an echo chamber site that's as ugly as it is regrettable. Similarly, I'm aware that the deep issues of the Middle East, Israel, "Palestine" (obviously, I have opinions about that), and the various contributing players involved are VERY involved, and...well, they can lead to actual violence.
So, I limit what I bring here. It's a fuggin' Vikings fan site. I have other actual political sites for deep dives into that stuff.
I have, truly, despised "the Donald" since before he was "firing" people on prime time TV, and was cozying up with Clintons for photo ops and Epstein for plane rides. To me, that's apolitical; I don't see him as republican, simply repugnant. I basically feel the same way about Santos. I wish I could feel the same way about MTG, but the gop keeps her around...so I guess that's who they want to be, now. Tragic.
Your blue BS accusation is still babble. Your "counter points" had no detail, just..."oh, well, uh, if you look..." dude, I've looked. I called out Sleepy Joe when he was a senator and VP, because he's been a huge fan of domestic surveillance and a complete flip-flopper on border security his whole career. During my time in New Mexico, that garnered its own type of hatred and mistrust...but, he wouldn't get into my news feed every other hour, unlike the babbling spray-tan sexual predator.
Hey, you're voting evil narcissism and sexual assault. That's a damned shame. I hope both main parties burn in a horrible, final hell so the country can have an actual chance.
Quote: @Skodin said:
y are harming those that we supposed to be getting the relief in the first place... which just leads to more ignorant gov't spending to offset the inflation that it was responsible for in the first place.
We have seen a 35% increase for corporate profits over the last 4 years (Dec 19 to Dec 23). They are charging more because they can and reaping the benefits.
Either they are going to shoot for lower profits by lowering prices OR we tax them a rate equal or higher to what people are taxed at. Aren't corporations people now? When we built the infrastructure of the greatest economy in the world, corporate tax rates were 50%, in the 90s they were 25%, now? 13%
If the top 1% paid their required taxes they owed that would pull in $175billion into the economy. THat's not NEW taxes or raising tax rates, that is requiring them to pay what they owe without loopholes (funded and setup for themselves)
The power is in the hands of few who can price gouge with no repercussions and rake in billions of record profits
Trying to justify that $8T budget that Biden submitted?
It's a little disingenuous to talk about corporate taxes as that's an accounting distinction. In the "good ol' days" all companies were taxed as C corporations. C corporations taxes are accumulated by the corporation and paid by the corporation. As reporting requirements and regulation dramatically increased on C corps, the Feds created two additional classes of Corporations for America's small businesses with much lower reporting requirements. The S-corp was introduced in 1958 and the LLC was introduced in 1977. Virtually all small businesses are now one of the two. The heavy use of S-Corp and LLC's for America's small businesses has dramatically reduced the "corporate" tax rates. Know why that is? It's because S-corps and LLC's are taxed at the shareholder tax rates. I own both an LLC and S-corp and pay taxes at the highest individual tax rate (less some research and development credits and some manufacturing credits). You know what my "corporate" income and taxes are every year? That would be zero because it all flows through to my individual tax return. On average, I pay out at about 28% of corporate profits to the Feds as a shareholder even though you will call it zero for this comparison because it's paid invidivually.
Quote: @Skodin said:
@ Waterboy said:
@ purplefaithful said:
@ badgervike said:
@ purplefaithful said:
I do have to wonder if the post covid economic conditions would have happened under either Biden or Trump v2.0?
I would argue that inflation and other issues plaguing the economy were ripe (and were going to happen) regardless of who was sleeping in the White House.
OTOH, I suspect many are quite happy looking at their personal portfolio net worth and 401k's these days. Hence the hefty spending by Americans inspite of inflation.
The economy (and Wall St) will probably take off more in about Q3 if the Feds lower rates.
To make that argument, you'd have to make comparisons in policy. The largest contributor to inflation by far is/was the 70% rise in Energy costs which permeates through the economy. You think that was caused by Covid related economic conditions or by Biden's war on fossil fuels?
I'm not well versed enough to speculate whether a war on fossil fuels drove all or some of the energy cost spikes.
EV vehicle sales are up vs y.ago but well below estimates in the US. Even in liberal Western Europe, there is a big shift in the timing of EV adoption. I think alot was grandstanding/politics.
Plus there's plenty of speculators on oil barrel prices, opec, seasonality etc. that can cause prices to go up or down. Thats about as much as I can articulate.
If you want inflation to spike, the first thing you do is mess with your energy supply. It's only common sense that every other single item is reliant on energy, even services. Biden's war on fossil fuels was predicted by Trump, and it isn't the sole cause of inflation, but it's the biggest cause of inflation.
Take out the subsidies for fossil fuels and calculate the costs of impacts due to fossil fuels. Get to the real cost of energy.
How about the subsidies for Green energy? We know that both the manufacturers and consumers are subsidized to create and purchase green tech. How about road use? Most states and the Feds pay for the roads through gas tax with only a few States adopting a use tax. That means the gas powered vehicles pay for the roads and the heavier EVs get a literal free ride. I have no doubt that's calculated in your magic bean environmental cost calculator.
How about we include the environmental impact on green energy? Spent Wind Turbine blades will account for approximately 30% of landfill waste in 2050 as the current designs aren't recyclable. How about those large batteries for EVs that aren't recyclable? They're already starting to pollute the landfills. What are we going to do with that toxic mess? How about the mining for rare earths and the environmental impact? 80% of the power in this Country comes from non renewable sources. Which side of the environmental impact calculator is the charging of those vehicles? Wind Turbines kill 1 million birds per year in this Country. Just the cost of doing business I guess. How about the Whales washing up along the Atlantic Wind farms. I've yet to see an honest review of all the costs and impact related to renewable and non-renewables.
In terms of subsidies, I pulled this from the DOE website
Got this off the DOE website (bragging about their Green investments):
"The Energy Information Administration (EIA), an independent agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, evaluated the amount of subsidies that the federal government provides energy producers for fiscal years 2016 through 2022, in its report Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy, updating its previous subsidy reports. Federal subsidies to support renewable energy formed nearly half of all federal energy-related support between fiscal years 2016 and 2022. Traditional fuels (coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear) received just 15 percent of all subsidies between FY 2016 and FY 2022, while renewables, conservation and end use received a whopping 85 percent. Renewable subsidies more than doubled between FY 2016 and FY 2022, increasing to $15.6 billion in fiscal year 2022 from $7.4 billion in fiscal year 2016 (both in 2022 dollars). Federal subsidies and incentives to support renewable energy in fiscal year 2022 were almost 5 times higher than those for fossil energy, which totaled $3.2 billion in subsidies. The subsidies in EIA’s report do not include state and local subsidies, mandates or incentives that in many cases are quite substantial, especially for renewable energy sources. EIA also did not include the massive subsidies authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) since it was passed in August 2022. Goldman Sachs has estimated the costs of that bill at $1.2 trillion"
Here's the report.
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.o...n-fy-2022/
Btw...the largest subsidy to fossil fuel is Low Income Heating Assistance. I'm not sure you want to advocate for taking that away?
Still want to talk about subsidies?
Quote: @badgervike said:
@ Skodin said:
@ Waterboy said:
@ purplefaithful said:
@ badgervike said:
@ purplefaithful said:
I do have to wonder if the post covid economic conditions would have happened under either Biden or Trump v2.0?
I would argue that inflation and other issues plaguing the economy were ripe (and were going to happen) regardless of who was sleeping in the White House.
OTOH, I suspect many are quite happy looking at their personal portfolio net worth and 401k's these days. Hence the hefty spending by Americans inspite of inflation.
The economy (and Wall St) will probably take off more in about Q3 if the Feds lower rates.
To make that argument, you'd have to make comparisons in policy. The largest contributor to inflation by far is/was the 70% rise in Energy costs which permeates through the economy. You think that was caused by Covid related economic conditions or by Biden's war on fossil fuels?
I'm not well versed enough to speculate whether a war on fossil fuels drove all or some of the energy cost spikes.
EV vehicle sales are up vs y.ago but well below estimates in the US. Even in liberal Western Europe, there is a big shift in the timing of EV adoption. I think alot was grandstanding/politics.
Plus there's plenty of speculators on oil barrel prices, opec, seasonality etc. that can cause prices to go up or down. Thats about as much as I can articulate.
If you want inflation to spike, the first thing you do is mess with your energy supply. It's only common sense that every other single item is reliant on energy, even services. Biden's war on fossil fuels was predicted by Trump, and it isn't the sole cause of inflation, but it's the biggest cause of inflation.
Take out the subsidies for fossil fuels and calculate the costs of impacts due to fossil fuels. Get to the real cost of energy.
How about the subsidies for Green energy? We know that both the manufacturers and consumers are subsidized to create and purchase green tech. How about road use? Most states and the Feds pay for the roads through gas tax with only a few States adopting a use tax. That means the gas powered vehicles pay for the roads and the heavier EVs get a literal free ride. I have no doubt that's calculated in your magic bean environmental cost calculator.
How about we include the environmental impact on green energy? Spent Wind Turbine blades will account for approximately 30% of landfill waste in 2050 as the current designs aren't recyclable. How about those large batteries for EVs that aren't recyclable? They're already starting to pollute the landfills. What are we going to do with that toxic mess? How about the mining for rare earths and the environmental impact? 80% of the power in this Country comes from non renewable sources. Which side of the environmental impact calculator is the charging of those vehicles? Wind Turbines kill 1 million birds per year in this Country. Just the cost of doing business I guess. How about the Whales washing up along the Atlantic Wind farms. I've yet to see an honest review of all the costs and impact related to renewable and non-renewables.
saw this a while back and your post made me think of it.
Jeremy Beck, CHST, STSCVP, Business Development
1y TYPICAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY:
25 pounds of lithium, 60 pounds of nickel, 44 pounds of manganese, 30 pounds cobalt, 200 pounds of copper, and 400 pounds of aluminum, steel, and plastic.
All but the plastic must be mined and the plastic is processed from fossil fuels.
No car is powered by batteries. That's a blatant and purposeful lie. The batteries are just containers for the real fuel which is electricity. It's like saying your car is run by gas cans. No, gas cans are just containers for the real fuel.
Electricity is produced primarily by coal, uranium, natural gas-powered plants, or diesel-fueled generators. So, to say an electric powered vehicle ("EV") is a zero-emission vehicle is a blatant and purposeful lie. Since 40% of the electricity generated in the U.S. is from coal-fired plants, it follows that 40% of every EV is powered by coal. These are coal-burning vehicles, and uranium powered vehicles, etc.
But that doesn't mean that the batteries are neutral to the environment. No, they're also nasty to the environment. Dry-cell species use zinc, manganese, lithium, silver oxide, or zinc and carbon to store electricity chemically. Rechargeable batteries only differ in their internal materials, usually lithium-ion, nickel-metal oxide, and nickel-cadmium. They all contain toxic, heavy metals.
The United States uses three billion batteries a year, and most end up in landfills where their shells break down and they leak their toxic contents. The metals inside eventually ooze out. The crud in your ruined flashlight is toxic, and so is the ooze that will inevitably leak from every battery in a landfill. All batteries, even rechargeable ones when they eventually die, rupture and leak their toxic heavy metals into the environment.
A typical EV battery contains 25 pounds of lithium, 60 pounds of nickel, 44 pounds of manganese, 30 pounds cobalt, 200 pounds of copper, and 400 pounds of aluminum, steel, and plastic. All those components come from mining. For instance, to manufacture an EV auto battery FOR JUST ONE CAR, you must process 25,000 pounds of brine for the lithium, 30,000 pounds of ore for the cobalt, 5,000 pounds of ore for the nickel, and 25,000 pounds of ore for copper. All told, you dig up 500,000 pounds of the earth's crust for just - one - battery. But since it's done out of sight, we pretend it's not happening.
Sixty-eight percent of the world's cobalt, a significant part of a battery, comes from the Congo. Their mines have no pollution controls. They are environmentally hazardous pits which employ children who die from handling this toxic material. This is also done out of sight, so we pretend it's not happening. Environmentalists refuse to factor in these diseased and dying kids as part of the cost of driving an electric car. Each new EV should come with a photograph of an African child who died making its "clean" batteries.
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