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Why the VET Program is So Aggravating

by Pat Pending

The news media in Kentucky can’t seem to understand why people find the Vehicle Emissions Testing (VET) program so annoying that they are willing to stand outside protesting and are willing to take valuable time to go to Frankfort to try to have the program eliminated.  After all, it only costs $11 and one hour of time per car per year.  Politicians and the media assume that, as with most government intrusions into our lives, we will decide that it is not worth our while to protest such a small inconvenience.  As compared with the many thousands of dollars we pay in taxes and the many hours we spend complying with the tax laws and other government mandates, the VET is no big deal.  So why are people hopping mad about it?

There are several reasons the VET upsets people more than many other government intrusions into our lives.  First, it upsets people because they realize it is a total waste of their time and money.  When 95% of the cars pass, and when even those that do not pass are allowed to continue driving after showing that they cannot be improved, it is clear to everyone except the EPA that the VET program does not clean the air.  What really improves the air quality is the improved technology we purchase when we buy a car.  So, the millions of dollars and millions of hours spent complying with the VET are essentially a huge waste.  Wasting all that time and money upsets people.

Second, the VET is intrusive.  It requires people to get out of their cars and allow somebody to get in and rev the engine, perhaps damaging the car and certainly invading their privacy.  It feels very much as if the government were invading their homes.  Having their privacy invaded upsets people.

Third, the VET is a direct taking of money, time, and privacy.  Unlike the tax laws, which automatically take money out of our pay checks without our even having to think about it, the VET requires us to take our time, to drive to the testing station, to come up with the cash for the test, and to surrender our cars to strangers to be tested.  While the tax laws operate largely in a covert manner, the VET program is very overt, and functions as a symbol of government arrogance and intrusion into our lives.  This overt example of government intrusiveness and arrogance upsets people.

Fourth, the VET is a monopoly, which lines the pockets of someone whose position is protected by the government.  Unlike our experiences in the free market, in which we can choose where to buy our food, clothing, and cell phones, we do not have a choice of vehicle testing programs.  We are required by law to go to the monopoly stations and hand our money over to an entity that is protected by the government against competition.  The lack of choice and the enforcement of a government monopoly upset people.

Perhaps the moral of the story is that, in order to avoid resistance when making future overreaching intrusions into our lives, the government should be much less overt.  Take thousands of dollars from our paychecks, but do it automatically -- don’t make us go to the government office to hand over the cash.  Make us spend thousands of dollars for pollution control equipment on every new car, but don’t make us drive to a test station to have the car tested.  Impose hundreds of restrictions on our lives, telling us how to run our businesses and how to raise our children, what food to eat, and what types of toilets we can buy, but do it behind the scenes, and we will proceed like sheep to the slaughter.  Just maintain the pretense that we are still a free people, and our lives and property are all yours.  You see, it is important to us to keep our illusions.  If you dare to take away our illusion that we are still a free people, we get downright ornery!