I am totally appalled at the socialist ideas expressed to “fix” a system that has made this the greatest country in the world. No, the government does not need to tax the American public any more and redistribute wealth. Rather, lets do as we always have in the past and innovate. We are unique in the vast distances we must travel, as opposed to Europe where one my travel trough six countries in one day. Let us upgrade our rail system to encourage the greater use of this most economical of commerce movers and free up the highways cars. I know I would feel much safer in an econobox that gets 50 miles per gallon without some trucker riding my back bumper. Oil is not a dirty word, we need to open up the many restricted areas in this country to exploration and in the interm encourage research and develpment to creat “ecomomical” alternative energy sources to utilize in those nitch areas. An lastly, think nuclear. Its clean and safe.
Why should the american society even consider paying a gas tax. The money should come from the proffit of the oil companies. Dont we already pay enough taxes.
As a follow up at the end of 2007, high oil cost is partially caused by commodity speculation based on little pressure to reduce fuel consumption (gasoline is still too cheap at $3) and no action by the Government signaling investors that the Government will not intervene (imagine that with an oil man as president).
Therefore, I propose that a tax be levied to the point that it lowers fuel consumption. A decline in consumption would limit speculation, and the money would then be diverted from the speculators for better purposes such as renewable fuels research. Providing tax credits back to those hit worst is appropriate since it is unlikely they are the ones driving the ridiculous gas guzzlers. If we don’t take some kind of action now that “Peak Production” has been proclaimed, then speculators will continue to make huge profits indefinitely.
I strongly believe in a free market. However, there are quality of life issues that are not properly regulated by purely financial motivation, and the Government is the only mechanism in place to respond. Unfortunately, it appears that our Government is too financially motivated to protect the public.
The Higher Windfall Tax should be imposed on the Oil companies. However, congress will not do anything because of the influence the oil companies have lobbying. Also, majority of the politicans have some kind of kick-backs from the oil companies in the form of donations, pledges to their meager causes AND most politicians have stocks interest in big oil companies. Come people its time to vote all these filling their own pockets politicians out of office. So many bickering in congress but no actions.
Also, these news hype-up little incidents about oil happenings and suddently these traders idiots get panic and rush to buy oil stocks. Come on individual investors, its time to let your investment managersnot to buy stocks in oil companies. Lets show them who is the boss.
The media should spend more time investigating about medical premium hikes and increases in property taxes (Minneola and Winter Garden, FL AND Wethersfield, CT)and how it kills the homeowners. Every year medical contributions goes up and average of 25% on employees and the average wage raise is 2% anually. How can we live with these outrageous expenses.
No one likes to talk about it but the main effect of the European Socialist tax system is in place to keep the lower classes from joining the elite.
When you pay 45% (or more) to the government, $6/gallon for gas, and need 25% down for house you either have to inherit money or wait the long corporate climb in a European company in order to improve your economic situation.
Note the richest Europeans: all old money….I prefer our system where, at least, you have a chance to improve.
No new taxes!!!!
Who is hurting the consumers more than the banks and credit card companies with their high fees and interest rates. If the average family has 5K in debt at 20 percent interest, that is over $80 per month that could be spent on gas. One late fee or one over the limit fee is equal to one tank of gas. Who really is squeezing the American consumer?
Why be so inefficient? If “everybody” agrees to the principles of a gasoline tax, why not simplify the whole ordeal and tax the higher incomes to support all the same programs? Otherwise you tax the poor with the high cost of gasoline, food, goods, etc, and then trust the government to provide credits, while defending against all the loopholes that would occur. This is pretty dumb – advocating a tax against the poor.
Hey, instead of giving a whopping tax break to go buy a 5 ton gas guzzler – what about the amazing notion of a credit for fuel-efficient cars?
As much as we want to blame Big Oil, I agree with something written earlier – big oil didn’t make people buy gas guzzlers.
I’d like to blame the automakers for being so short-sighted – not seeing the obvious trends in fuel prices. Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing one or two of them go out of business to teach the survivors a lesson. BUT, reducing consumption is the only effective solution.
Gasolene is fairly price inelastic and price increases will only modestly reduce demand. The results of this dumb idea:
1. The government will rake in the dough and waste it on the beaurocrats
2. Inflation will heat up as transportation costs will rise and increase the costs of goods that are trucked
3. People will have less money to spend on other things resulting in lower sales and production leading to unemployment.
In short only an idiot of the Jimmy Carter school could dream this one up
Wouldn’t it be great if the US could lead the world out of this with our great ability to innovate?
The current gas prices stifle innovation and basically move it off shore. Every day we fight this we are pushing the problem on the future and into the hands of others that are eager to innovate around it.
Ethanol, Bio-diesel and Hydrogen are pretty much gimmicks to buy time. The two first are classic cases of shifting the cost from one place to another. There is no net saving, only a marginal reduction in dependency on foreign oil. Hydrogen, albeit clean, is not clean to make and has always been 15 years away (great ploy by Detroit when they killed the electric cars).
Its a bitter pill, but if we want to drive the solution, we should do ourselves a favor and jack up the price of fuel to around $5/gal.
Don’t count on Detroit to solve the problem. They do not want to solve it. They’ve shown that for decades. Count on new American inventors to come forward. Only a high gas price will grease the skids for venture capitalists to step forward and finance these great ideas. I doubt any of the VCs want to come close to Detroit.
Fine,I’ll support a $2 to 3$ per gallon federal gas tax on the condition that part of the money is used for alternative transpopration paths, such as the thousands of miles of bicycle paths that are in Europe but not here.
I live 11 1/2 miles form work. I could ride a bicycle if it was safe to do so, but there are no roadways for bicycles or even walkways, just high-speed traffic. Make safe roadways for low-speed traffic, like bicycles, mopeds, etc.
If a European like tax is added to gas, the the European like traveling method should be also.
What we have here is a fascist system whereby government and private industry work hand in hand and then blame each other whenever consumers raise issues. Nothing ever changes because one can always blame the other.
Adding additional gas taxes is idiotic in the extreme and only exemplifies the absurdity of the current situation. Why not repeal those taxes?
The gas tax in Europe, to a great degree, finances the social and medical programs.
If it would pay for a national medical program in the US, I would be happy to pay another dollar or two per gallon.
Federal or State taxes on gasoline will not do anything to help reduce the use of gasoline for those of us who have to drive from suburb to suburb to get to and from work and public transportation isn’t an option.
Most of us also have children of various ages that require dropping off and picking up at schools and daycares. We have to drive and we will continue to do so, but higher taxes on gas will mean less money to use to pay for housing, food, clothes, and other consumer goods which will hurt the economy in other ways and will hurt the American families’ budget.
I fully agree that higher gas taxes are what we need to permanently reduce demand.
There’s no quick fixes here, but taxes do a better job in making future prices predictable and will make higher prices more managable. Taxes also can be used for incentives for higher milage vehicles and through some sort of income tax rebate, offset some of the increased costs to the poor who can’t afford to change their vehicles or driving demands quickly.
Given that electricity is now 1/4 the price of gasoline per unit energy, I imagine the “electrification” of transportation is our best shot to reduce oil and gasoline consumption and that also will help bring prices down.
A higher tax is out of the question. While the government may say that the money will come back, at the same time lower income families will be hit right then and there, not in the future. Historically, a tax has had a negative affect on the U.S. economy and vice versa. Instead, the way the market is working out now is fine. We just need to keep on working it out the way we are right now (ie. alternative fuels, better mpg, more fuel sources that are not international). And as for global warming, a cow produces a much more lethal gas (26x?) to the ozone than does a vehicle in one year, so that doesn’t quite matter AS much.
Big Oil had had a death grip on the throats of Americans since the late 60’s
While it is true prices are somewhat controlled by supply and demand… it also true prices are controlled by competition.
Apparently we don’t have eneough compitition in the market place…
Maybe we need to do to Big Oil the same thing we did to Ma-Bell and the telecommunications industry…
Break up the Monopolies and give the upstart competitors insentive to produce more and to build new refineries.
I began arguing 20 years ago with my fellow graduate students in economics at the University of Arizona for increased gasoline taxes (federal and state). The real problem with the price of gasoline in our market system is that the externality costs (pollution, congestion, waging of wars of its consumption…) are not fully reflected in the cost. As a result, we over consume. As for the burden falling too much on the poor, reduce their federal and state withholding in each paycheck so they’ll have more to spend on gas.
By adjusting the price signal in this way, consumers will modify their use and/or vehicle choice. We might actually see a reduction in the number of 14-mpg SUV’s with one passenger commuting to work. Now, who could argue the value of that?
“Yes, but why is Big Oil to blame? Is it Big Oil that is driving large SUVs and trucks and making no effort to car pool while ignoring mass transit?”
Big Oil is to blame because they have not used their income wisely in maintaining their systems; and, they raise prices to make us pay for it AGAIN. Was refining cost not included in the previous gas prices we paid?
And…since when does Boise have mass transit? LOL If you live in downtown Boise you MIGHT find a bus or wait 30 minutes for a cab…and don’t they use gas too? AND cost more? yeesh
Mass transit is a joke anyway in terms of cost effectiveness. The Oregon Max system costs the rider approximately $2 to ride while it costs the taxpayer an average of $26 for that same ride (yes, federal taxpayers too)- forget the fact that it doesn’t really go anywhere useful for the majority of the population.
Anytime the government takes more money it gets wasted regardless of it being “earmarked”.
It is wrong for the government to attempt to accomplish social engineering through the levi of taxes. That has failed every time they attempt it. The net results are always the same, higher taxes for everyone, a more complex tax code, and more government buearcracy. If the governement wants “the people” to use less gas, why don’t hey legislate that directly. Don’t tax everyone, including the poor who can least aford it. Legislate a limit on the numbe of gallons of gas one can purchase. OF course that should go for congress also shouldn’t it. ooops they are exempt from laws of that nature after all they are the rulling class
Some people talk about the gas guzzlers, the tax rates in Europe, better driving habits, etc, but they tend to forget that for some people, those gas guzzlers are the only vehicle they can afford, that the tax rates in Europe actually pay for many social programs, and that driving habits are actually out of necessity.
Instead of taxing us more (of which I doubt seriously we would receive any benefits), find out why the oil companies chose this specific time to “upgrade” their refineries by closing some down and yet those same companies are producing record profits. Of course, it would have to be by an outside agency since the past has shown us the political “committees” that have been “reviewing” past oil practices have not (as far as I’m concerned) shown anything except that these so-called committees can be bought.
This would most likely put the American Auto Industry out of business as they can’t afford to sell the cheap stripped down stuff coming from overseas do to them having to pay retirement benifits that Japan doesn’t have here.
Absolutely, but keep the money out of the hands of the federal government. We need to force American consumers to reduce their usage of all natural resources, especially petroleum.
This idea is completely ridiculous. It will do nothing to benefit most Americans, and especially those on limited income. The big winners would be the federal government and Big Oil.
Rather, what we need is a huge windfall profits tax on petrochemical revenues coupled with fines for failure to build and maintain refinerries that produce ample supplies while meeting environmental (clean air and water) standards.
Personally, I believe it is time to nationalize all energy, insurance, pharmaceeuticals and healthcare since these are critical to be well being of all Americans.
Big Oil has clearly demonstrated its dishonesty and its utter disregard for the American economy and the the American people. Drastic measures need to be undertaken to increase competition and guaraantee a free market that is not beholden to insiders who can manipulate that market on whims, false fears and contrived “shortages” to increase shareholder equity and corporate profits.
Lowering demand will not decrease the price of a manufactured commodity. If demand drops, then the manufacturers will cut supplies until the price rises to the point where they will get their target profit margin. All it takes is a “refinery breakdown” or “pipeline maintenance” to reduce supply to a point where the price can go up again.
Bill said: Why is it some American’s don’t think they should pay for anything.
If my experience with small business is any indicator, then no one operating an enterprize, big or small, thinks that they should pay for anything. Interestingly enough, this same groups feels that those with W-2 income didn’t really earn theirs, so it’s alright for them to pick up the entire tab at dinner. Nes pas
I think we should scare the heck out of big oil companies and threaten to nationalize them. We could then take anything over 10% profit and feed it back in to a new energy committee who is serious about creating, new and inovative ways to transport people in our big, wide open country! Adding a tax to gas in the US right now will do nothing but increase the price of gas. Until we have an energy policy that leads us to be creative in this country, we will continue to be strapped to our cars!
Aren’t most of you overlooking the fact that we pay 40-50 cents/gallon (At least) in federal and state tax already? The problem is emerging industry in places like China that are driving up demand along with a lack of refining capacity here in the US.
I suggest we also tax real estate to lower demand, since its too expensive these days. Also, lets tax vegetables in the off season, since they get more expensive. Government controls on the market are never good for the consumer.
Why don’t we get rid of the gas tax altogether so that EVERYONE can afford gas. The demand for tax isn’t going to go up drastically. I’m going to continue my same daily routine as will most other Americans. The money the gov’t doesn’t make off the gas tax will be made up in other areas such as sales tax. It puts money back in the Americans pockets to spend in other areas (such as entertainment). I think the government needs to get out of the practice of getting involved with the individual’s life as much as possible and focus more on standing up a solid Iraqi government which will in turn drive oil prices down….oh yeah, and I agree with Bryan from Bradentown, increase the refineries in the U.S. to include Alaska and Texas.
How about we break up the oil companies like we did when these things were happening in the early 20th century. We nee a justice department with a backbone to do their job. And also a leader in Washington that does things for the good of the voters.
The United States is heavily dependant on motor vehicles today and such dependence will not be easily changed. I am against the gas tax because I believe it will have a negative impact on lower income motorists and cause an increasing surge in housing costs as people begin moving closer to larger population centers.
I believe a better way to help curb the rising gas prices is to encourage lower consumption with positive enforcement. I would increase rebates and incentives for motorists purchasing efficient fuel and hybrid vehicles, as well as offer tax breaks to auto manufactures that produce these hybrid and fuel efficient cars. The lower prices would encourage sale of these cars and the vehicles lower fuel demands would benefit the motorist.
Another reporter that doesn’t understand economics. Repeat after me there is NO free lunch.
We will not only pay high taxes and prices at the gass pump. We will also see mass shortages as the oil companies send that gas to more profitable markets or simply scale back production and lay oil refinery workers off.
If you want to save money on gas park your SUV.
Interesting article, but not an apples to apples view of the average cost of driving in the U.S. vs. Europe.
First, a 2006 press release from PwC Shows that more than 50% of cars sold in Europe are Diesel. Siesel cars get about 25-30% better fuel economy than gas powered cars.
Second, visit http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuel/index.html and you will see that while gas prices in Europe are higher than the U.S., Diesel prices are closer to U.S.gas prices. Take into account the better fuel mileage from diesel and the cost per liter of Diesel and you will see that driving in Europe is not that much more than the US.
Point of the Story, the tax on gas in Europe is used to develop diesel technology, which has leveled the relative U.S. vs E.U. price of driving even with the big taxes in Europe.
I think the government should establish a partial rationing plan that would allow every car owner/driver 10 or so gallons a week at for under $2 a gallon, and allow the rest of the supply to be sold a market value. Only licensed drivers over 18, providing proof of insurance and title would be eligible. Its not perfect, but would relieve some of the burden on lower income households. We have the technology to prevent wholesale fraud, but some will always be trying to get more than their fair share. That should not prevent us from trying to help those that need it the most.
Bring back the windfall profit tax. Oil companoes are making record profits off everyone. Don’t tax those who can least afford it tax those who can most afford it.
I believe that there should be a huge tax placed on tobacco products (5.00/pk) and this tax should be earmarked to offset the rising price of gas. Smoking is a choice that a person makes. Driving is no longer a choice.
Gasoline is too cheap. What other fluid can you buy that is cheaper per volume? Milk in some places? Municipal Water? Oil is a unique form of energy that has almost no substitutes. It should be taxed to provide more efficient public transportation systems people will want to use.
I have yet to see one of these “Tax the Big Oil Companies” articles once mention the $24 BILLION Exxon alone paid in Income Tax (not counting the additional state taxes at the pump which are massive here in WI – to pay for a three lane highway between two minor northern cities that don’t need it!) Let the invisible hand guide the markets and leave the government meddling to something else.
Yes, tax us. Sprawl, traffic, and the transient nature of modern life have already ruined the American neighborhood. We’ll never reclaim our inner cities as long as it’s economically feasible to live 20 miles from work. The ongoing deterioration of the family unit is also fueled by this idea that spending 10 hours a week in your car is normal. Use a third of the tax proceeds for vouchers to get good students out of crumbling public schools. Another third could be used to build prisons. And another third could go to developing ‘cleaner’ energy.
Decreasing demand for useless widgets is one thing, decreasing demand for gasoline by making it less affordable is completely ludicrous. More money to be wasted by the government and undermine the free market economy for short term political (and special) interests.
The other idea, of forcing them to build more refineries, is completely counter-intuitive to the free market as well.. where else would we tell someone to invest a ton of money so that their profit margin will DECREASE! I am not a fan of big oil but if you open the door for the government to control it you will open the door to the government controlling everything else.
I don’t remember anyone whining back in the late 90s when the oil companies were hurting. Gas was as low as 70 cents per gal. Clearly, our interests only flow in one direction.
Any gas tax increases should be levied against the automobile manufacturers. Maybe then they would find the inspiration to increase their gas milage. Penalizing the average American with even higher fuel costs is not the answer.
How good would fewer cars on the road be for our economy? So it would hurt the automakers, all the companies that market products for cars, kill the economies of rural and out of the way areas that rely on tourism, hurt the people who live in the suburbs and rural areas. How much would it cost to develope infastructure for publict transportation for the whole country? Alternative fuel sources are the answer, but if or when these new technologies become main stream then the price of oil will drop. Face it, until the fuel prices cause our economy to go south, we will be paying a higher price.
The Market will not fix itself and neither will the government. Consumers are the ones who must demand cleaner and cheaper fuels for cars. Rising costs of fuel may cause everyone to cut spending too deeply, which will really hamper the economy. The real trouble lies in the effect of the increased transportation costs on the price of necessary goods like produce and meat. I can give up my vacation, but I can not give up on food.
A gasoline should definitely be implemented but must be earmarked for special purposes only. Maybe to pay for Mr. Bush’s war or proping up social security. An income tax rebate should be used to eliminate the impact on low income drivers. Why is it some American’s don’t think they should pay for anything.
Instead of gas tax hikes, how about we increase the total number of refineries by 20 to 25%? That would definately increase the total volume of fuels & decrease the demand.
I firmly believe that if we standardized gasoline accross the nation that would have a larger effect on the price of gasoline. According to the oil industry one of the reasons we don’t have enough gas and why the cost is so high is because of all the different blends of gasoline that different states require. This would also increase the reserves. And please don’t compare Europe to the US, thats apples and oranges.
Transferring money from corporations to the government sounds like a communist idea to me. Why don’t we just advocate the government takeover of the oil companies. Oh, and then I want to know who is going tell the un-wed mother of 3, who works 2 jobs and would have to cut back on food for herself to pay for the extra taxes she would have to pay to put gas in her car to get to her to 2 jobs.
Where I live she wouldn’t be able to hop the transit because, there isn’t a centralized population to support mass transit.
I guess capitalist economics that has made the United States the greatest country in the history of civilization is beyond the comprehension of the writer of this story and everyone who thinks the oil companies are evil.
If you want more money then maybe you should put higher terrifs on gas and oil shipped in from outside the U.S.
Increased taxes will be spent on the usual political pork projects. That’s returning them to the general public. At least the oil companies use profits to increase production. Let the market work.
Insane idea! We are taxed enough and don’t know where it all goes. There is no guarantee it would benefit us. even if it did benefit the poor, that does not help the middle class family!
A $2.00 per gallon gas tax would stabilize prices for a long enough time so that consumers could make a reasonable choice of vehicles to buy over the next ten years based on a truer cost to the environment and national security.
Absolutely NOT
We should limit or better yet, eliminate government involvement. We do not want to pay more taxes. We do not want the government to take care of us. The most abused use of money is in govt. spending. The answer is in exploration for fossil fuels, the development of alternate fuels, and allowing competition to create the answers. We need to open up Alaska and allow off shore exploration for heavens sake – that would be one way the govt. could get out of the way!!!! In a few years we will be able to receive abundant returns on Alaskan exploration. Eliminate the taxes we have on fuel today & we would be in much better shape. If the govt. can offer any help, it would be to encourage the private sector to generate alternate fuels & mass transit alternatives. But please don’t give the govt. more money to waste. Thank You
Absurd!! If they are going to tax us then they should use that money to subsidize fuel, or use it to build a better infrastructure for transportation. Is our government that out of touch with reality here? All it will do is further widen the divide of those who have and those who have not. Build more refineries and require big oil to spend a percentage of their windfall profits on the exploration of alternative energy sources (hydrogen, etc.) It’s going to take another “industrual revolution” to create alternative energy, but it won’t happen from big oil. Big oil will continue to rape our pockets until they can find a way to create alternative energy that they can make money on. Look at any report or interview with oil execs…they are not spending any big money on alt energy because the ROI is not high enough for them. Capitalism? it will bring this country to it’s knees!! If the government wants to do something right, take control and impose strong tax levies on big oil and mandates that they must invest apercentage of their profits into alt energy sources. We are slaves to the middle east and eventually China. The storm is brewing people, if we don’t get out of this downward spiral, we will all be back riding horses and driving carriages.
Absolutely, but only if the tax is tied to legislation forcing the money to be spent in alternative fuel and reduce our dependency on oil.
Yes! Some of it could be rebated to lower income families a la EITC, some could be used as a tax credit for purchasing a high-efficiency auto, and some could be used to improve public transit. Go for it.
Yap, I think a tax hike should help – not only the state coffers – but reducing the consumption, pollution, traffic, and more.
Forget hybrids and other non-sense. Just imagine people driving mostly European like cars! And you got 50% gas&pollution reduction out-of-the-box … read out-of-the-car.
Our gasoline is still too cheap to encourage good driving habits. I was in a strip mall the other day and I saw half a dozen cars idling outside a pizza shop. All of those drivers could have easily shut off their engines (it was a beautiful 60 degree day) but no one bothered. Ten minutes later, most of the cars were still their with their engines running. Perhaps an extra $1/gallon in taxes would have encouraged some people to shut off their engines.
Let’s see, I’ve cut down to one car, frugally limit travel to just necessities (7500 miles per year), I’m a retired single parent on a fixed income, raising a 7 and 9 year old – I especially do not sanction a higher gas tax! Especially when it would encompass some trust that the government would put it back to work for “us”. NOT! In this day and age I’ve become one of those who loves my Country, but hates my government.
Absolutely. We should have done it years ago, as many people in the past have called for. Many will complain that our country is not set up for mass transit. While this is true, it would have, and will change if gas prices reach $5 or $6 per gallon. Living 20 miles from your workplace would become much less popular, and Americans would live a lifestyle that would enable effective mass transit to be developed.
Yes government should have forced higher CAFE standards, but consumers should have spoken with their purchasing, by buying more fuel efficient automobiles instead of whatever is the fad of the moment.
The last thing we need is the gov’t putting their hands on more of our money. Plus everyone keeps forgetting other parts of the equation when talking about Europe: they have social healthcare, FREE education, EXCELLENT public transportation, etc. We have none of these so comparing one type of tax across the continents is simply misleading.
Absolutely not! I keep reading things about how “Americans’ appetite for gas isn’t changing even though prices keep rising” and it’s because we don’t have a choice! Our biggest cities are the only ones with adequate public transportation and even in those you still have to drive to the public transportation if you can’t afford to live inside the city. Where I live, it’s at least a mile walk to the nearest bus stop and buses only come every 30 minutes. There are no commuter trains and the bus will take almost two hours to get you to work when you could drive and be there in 15 minutes. Why should average Americans who don’t have true options for transportation be punished further?
Yes, but why is Big Oil to blame? Is it Big Oil that is driving large SUVs and trucks and making no effort to car pool while ignoring mass transit?
It’s extremely simple: Who should pay for the environmental and geopolitical costs of consuming fossil fuels? For those of you who are against a gas tax: may I send you my mortgage, my grocery/restaurant tabs, and my entertainment expenses, because, hey, I don’t want to pay for them either!
We should not tax gasoline. What we should tax is the Horsepower of a car. The higher the power the higher the tax. This would be an incentive to make smaller engines.
I am for such tax as long as it is used solely for improving transportation.
We must realize that transportation is a business expense and should be considered as such. Businesses relocate offices outside cities to pay less taxes and the employees have to pay more to get there. If businesses were made responsible for transportation, we would see buses, van car pooling etc.
Giving more money to politicians to squander is never a good idea. At least people who own oil stocks are profiting and that is probably most people who have some form of 401K We as a society must learn to conserve. The more we conserve the less we buy, the less we buy the less the demand. Lower demand always results in lower prices
There is a BIG difference between Europe and North America. In Europe, you don’t necessarily even need to own a car, the public transit is that good. Here in the USA, you’re up the creek without a car. It’s like comparing apples to oranges
Absolutely, but only if the tax is tied to legislation forcing the money to be spent on infrastructure and technological improvements directly aimed at reducing consumption. The initial pain in transit costs would be reduced if we spent the money on improving rail, mass transit, incentives for improving car & truck mileage and investments in alternative energy sources. If we just put the money into the general fund then the “screws & wingnuts” in Washington will waste it. For the lower income people, a direct relief, like “gas stamps” would help relieve the burden they would feel.
I beg to differ with this article.
High prices in Europe have done nothing to curb driving nor gas usage.
I spent the last 20 years there as a Military person and then as a contractor and the high prices of gas have done nothing that is spoken of. In fact the Europeans drive their cars longer before buying a new car. The plus side of that is they have strict EPA rules and if the vehicle doesn’t pass emissions they can’t re-register it till the repairs are made. America needs stronger enforcement of it’s EPA laws and Americans need regular tune-ups and check their tires.
It is my personal opinion that the US oil companies will not be happy until we are the one’s paying 8.00 per gallon at the pump, while they rake in mega profit each year.
The Government will not return any money to us low life civilians; as they will use it to fund the war effort instead.
Mike Wascom
Decatur, Alabama
No. Two wrongs by a government as sorry as ours do not make a right! The government failed to REQUIRE automakers to develop and sell more efficient cars when they had the chance, and now, we’re all paying the price. The ones who can least afford to pay a big gas bill are hurt the most, while the guzzler drivers don’t care. Big oil needs to be busted up and held accountable for gouging consumers: they have used every excuse in the book for raising prices, and there hasn’t even been a Katrina. This is the only business in the country where the failure to adequately plan for the future and take care of their customers results in hundreds of billions of dollars in profits! I haven’t filled up since Katrina and plan to stay HOME on Memorial Weekend. If more Americans like me would do that, maybe the oil companies would CHOKE on their excess gasoline—–at least I hope so.
First of all most suburban areas do not have a good transit system, so they would still rely on their own automobile to get them around. Secondly, this would also raise the amount of money that we pay for consumer goods, because the higher transportation costs would be paid for by the consumer. Finally, the airlines would take yet another hit by having to raise prices even furthur, discouraging people from taking vacations and hurting the service industry as a whole.
This idea sounds disasterous.
I strongly believe that gasoline prices can be lowered if 1) drivers are UNABLE to purchase gas guzzlers, 2) drivers can receive tax rebates if they lower their driving mileage, 3 a combination of the two above. Ir is not right for conscious consumers to bear the brunt of those who insist on driving four-wheel tanks, such as the Hummer and their ilk.
To Tom from Poughkeepsie:
Don’t punish higher-income tax payers, most of whom worked hard all their lives with nothing handed to them in order to achieve success. The face of wealthy in this country isn’t just someone born with a silver spoon in their mouths. We’re hard-working people, any who came from lower to middle-class families.
That’s why so many people immigrate to the U.S., for that opportunity to be a success, and anyone willing to work hard enough, persevere through challenges and overcome obsticals, can achieve the American dream.
I’m an Army brat (my dad a Vietnam vet) whose parents didn’t pay for college and I worked two jobs and used common sense and hard work to get ahead. Same with my husband (his dad a WWII vet and worked two jobs to support his family), and now that we’ve worked hard to establish career success in our 40’s so we can send our sons to college, we are targeted with increased taxes in order to supplement lower-income folks. Why? I’ve never taken handouts.
Don’t ask the Government to take our hard-earned money so they can give it to people who sit back and suck off government programs. We already pay ridiculous taxes on our income, home and schools, and also give to many charities and volunteer, so this isn’t about a lack of compassion, it’s about letting me decide how to spend my money, put it back in to the economy, and not let the government create more programs for so-called less fortunate. The programs we support today need reform, and target the truly needy.
If we squash every benefit of getting ahead financially in this country, who will ever be motivated to achieve success?
Drill, give tax breaks to those who buy hybrid vehicles, etc. No more increasing taxes for the “wealthy”, and eliminating taxes for the “working class”. Are you kidding me? Last I checked my husband works 70 hours/week, not including commute and travel.
We work, but because we’ve made enough to get ahead, we should pay for others who didn’t? If you want a socialized society, move to Russia.