Who benefits from federal fuel efficiency mandates?

I find it important to point out that environmental policy usually enriches some business with powerful lobbyists. My Examiner column today digs into fuel efficiency regulations:

And the President’s fuel-efficiency mandates may not hurt struggling auto companies, because Obama’s philosophy is the one Ronald Reagan mocked: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.

Carmakers have long been able to make more efficient cars, but consumers haven’t been willing to pay enough to make them profitable. In the bailout era launched by President Bush, however, profitability is hardly a concern: If the government likes what you’re doing, taxpayers pick up the tab.

Read the whole thing here.