Government knows best?

We found out this week another of the sacrifices we’ll have to make in our quest to counter global climate change.

We’ll pay more for our new cars and trucks.

And we might have trouble finding models that can haul as many people and as much stuff as the ones we drive now.

Of course these might not seem like sacrifices for people who agree with President Obama, who announced Tuesday his plan to require the U.S. fleet of new cars and light trucks to average 35fi mpg by 2016.

But those aren’t the people we’ve been thinking about.

The people on our minds are those who are skeptical about the notion that humans are largely responsible for climate change, and that actions such as increasing cars’ fuel mileage will cool the planet.

When these people are shocked by the sticker price on the car that suits their needs, the culprit won’t be corporate greed or inflation, but rather the federal government’s intervention in the marketplace.

Perhaps this is necessary.

It may be that Americans must be forcibly weaned from their gas-guzzlers.

To that end, we prefer Obama’s plan to, say, increasing gas taxes, which is a much more regressive tactic.

Obama’s proposal also gives car buyers the solace of knowing that although they’ll spend more at the dealership, they’ll shell out less for gas.

Yet for all that, we can’t suppress a shudder when we consider that the government has taken the monumental step from merely suggesting what car buyers ought to do, to manipulating the manufacturing of cars to push customers in the direction the government thinks is best.

There is precedent for this sort of thing, of course.

The government also required carmakers to install seat belts and air bags, both of which add to the price.

But the benefits of those devices are beyond dispute.

The evidence that a partial cure for Earth’s fever is boosting the fuel economy of American vehicles by 42 percent is by comparison scanty and unconvincing.

Obama’s proposal also suffers from a problem common to broad legislation: it makes perfect sense in some situations, but could cause all sorts of trouble in others.

For city dwellers who use their car mainly for commuting, more fuel-efficient vehicles are ideal.

But in places such as Baker County, many people need heavy-duty rigs to run their businesses. For them, and their customers, Obama’s plan amounts to a tax hike.