Over at CarTalk.com, Ray Magliozzi (of Tappet Bros. fame) floats a
'modest proposal' too hot for the politicos to broach; namely, a graduated gas tax of 50 cents a year, capping at $3 a gallon. I'm not sure I agree with everything he says (should we really subsidize large families?), but most of it is compelling. Take, for example, this bit:
It will lower the real price of fuel, including home heating oil, as demand starts to plummet. At the current rate of increase of fuel consumption, gasoline prices are going to approach six dollars a gallon in six years, anyway. So, instead of giving those extra three bucks to the oil companies, we can give it — are you ready for this? — back to ourselves!
Among other things, says Ray, we could pump that money into more R&D on alternative fuels and energy sources. Sounds like the right idea to me.
7 Comments:
That's what everyone said when gas hit 1.85 a gallon. And again when gas hit 2.50. And Again when gas hit 3.00. And despite all the anecdotal evidence, people aren't driving less, and our oil consumption is still going way doen. Sure, hybrids are hot, but only if you can afford them. Actually, a gas tax will pretty much only hurt poor people and small businesses, and it will take years to shake out demand for more efficient.
Or, Congress could do would it did last time we had an oil crisis, and raise the fuel economy of cars and SUVs.
But there IS a price at which people would drive less and/or buy/demand higher mileage cars. That's the point, right?
Sure, there is a point - but what is that point? The conventional wisdom was that everyone would freak out and start driving Seqways when oil got to $55 a barrel. Guess what the price of oil is now? Guess how well Hummers are selling?
Well then, if people are just going to drive anyway... then bring the tax on... We might as well have a way to pay for all the damage it is causing.
In fact, Hummers aren't selling well. The Hummer H1 has been discontinued and the H2s and H3s are taking a lot longer to move off the lot, which is why GM is offering ridiculous incentives like $1.99 gasoline.
For more on this, see this Slate article: "Hummer vs. Prius, the surprising winner in the war for America's auto soul."
I, for one, don't buy the argument that a gas tax would put undue burdens on the poor. If it's phased in slowly enough, it gives everyone a chance to make rational decisions about what/how much to drive. Let's also remember that few in America are so poor that they couldn't make better spending decisions. There are plenty of people below the poverty line who nevertheless manage to pay for cell phones, Xboxes and cable TV. We all need to re-prioritize and the gas tax, as Ray puts it is needed to 'save us from ourselves.' In an enlightened government, taxes would be used as a lever for social change. But it will take someone with real political vision to apply it.
not a gas tax but a carbon tax. that's what we need.
Post a Comment
<< Compass Main