Whenever you see politispeak, like “stricter standards,” and”new rules,” and statements extolling the virtues of “higer standards,” always remember that these terms translate roughly into english: price increase.

OK, now for the good stuff: your politicians are trying to bring just this sort of things about!

Congressional backers of higher fuel economy standards said Tuesday that this could be the year they prevail after a string of defeats, thanks to concerns about $3-a-gallon gas and imports of oil from the Middle East.

Ok. First things first. The cost of production does not ultimately determine the the price the market will bear. The market price will determine the cost of production. That said, how does increasing the cost of production reduce the market price? No government can tax a product into affordability. Similarly, it can’t pile on regulations on top of regulation and expect the price to go anywhere but up.

But of course, it’s always bout the Big Benevolent Bureacracy looking out for us poor defenseless constituents: “…federal safety regulators to set new rules aimed at protecting passengers…”

…as if.