Did you know that Mercedes Benz is consistently ranked as one of the safest car makers?
Although the automobile manufacturer has a reputation for luxurious, high-performance vehicles, their products are just as safe as Volvo, if not more. With the lowest priced model at $33,600 and the comparable Honda model starting at $15,455, it is clear that not everyone can afford such a car.
Mercedes invests a lot of time and money recruiting the best engineers around the world who have studied tirelessly for years.
One might even compare the process to the time it takes for a person to become a doctor. The finest materials combined with the greatest car designers working for years produces an admirable result and hard earned reward.
Ownership of a Mercedes is often seen as a sign of wealth, as upkeep and taxes add to the price tag. How unfortunate that though we are born equal in this great democratic country, not all may afford the right to the same level of luxury and safety.
Is a rich citizen’s life worth more than a poor citizen’s life? All citizens have a right to luxurious safety.
Imagine if we protected ourselves from inferior car makers and allowed only Mercedes Benz the honor of providing us with cars. While setting such high standards for car safety and luxury may put a dent in an American’s wallet, we will all be safer with the decision being made for us.
Besides, we could offer tax dollars to those who cannot afford such a car to make up the difference.
While Mercedes sold more than 1 million cars worldwide last year, I doubt its production would be able to keep up with the absolutely absurd increased demand if we were able to ban all other cars. We might be in line at the waiting room for awhile, if we were in the market to buy a new car, emergency or not.
Although the increased demand may raise the price of a product, we could circumvent the greedy law of supply and demand by not allowing Mercedes to charge more than what we determined to be a fair price.
Some might whine that such a price control would result in an inferior product, but don’t let their rhetorical fear mongering get to you. These are the same people who claim the moon landing was false and that the Earth is flat.
All of this seems complicated because I do not want to confuse you. Perhaps we may take a lighter approach. What if we utilized the vast tax surplus to create our own car manufacturer to compete with the skyrocketing costs of cars? A car company for the people could set fair prices which would keep other car companies honest.
Alas, this may only be naive speculation, but it is clear that we must, as a nation, take a stand for human rights by arbitrarily asserting control over sectors of private industry.
Amberson Jordan is an alumnus of the philosophy department.
