The Bulletin’s recent attack on electric car-charging infrastructure is sorely misguided.

The editorial rhetorically asks if the federal government subsidized infrastructure for gas-powered cars. The answer, of course, is yes! We would not have paved roads, gas stations and gasoline at the pumps today without decades of public funding.

The editorial also attempts to make these chargers look expensive by dividing their cost among the admittedly modest number of electric cars currently in Central Oregon. This misses the point — these are fast chargers, designed mainly for tourists, or other drivers traveling from, to or through the region.

Ironically, too, using the editorial’s argument, most of rural Oregon would not have roads, electricity, running water, or door-to-door mail service. All of that infrastructure is expensive to provide to rural America — but providing basic services to every part of America is a core function of government.

It is also worth noting that Oregon’s electric vehicle industry produces over $260 million in economic activity every year, and more than 1,600 jobs, while moving us toward energy independence.

I call that an investment worth making.

Jeff Allen, executive director, Drive Oregon

Portland