According to Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), it is almost an American duty to become a gluttonous, self-absorbed slob with total and utter disregard for the consequences, both environmental and political, that may occur because of those same behaviors. Approval of 35 m.p.g. fuel efficiency standards would have dramatically cut our dependence on foreign oil, given our Middle Eastern foreign policy more flexibility and helped avoid the destruction of vital wilderness areas.
It was idiocy for the Senate to vote down higher fuel efficiency standards (News, March 14).
Lott confuses the rights of the free market with the rights in an open democracy. Democracy decides what is best for the greatest number of its citizens, while the free market decides what is best for the greatest number of its investors. If the rights of industry and investors had been found to far outweigh the well-being of the citizens and the nation, there would never have been environmental regulations or mandatory wage laws.
