The 50ยข-a-Gallon Solution. A tax hike on gasoline was a good idea 10 years ago, and it would be a good idea today. By Gregg Easterbrook. [New York Times: Opinion]
Had federal gas taxes gone up 50 cents a gallon 10 years ago,
several things might not have happened or would have had far less
impact.
The S.U.V. and pickup-truck crazes would not have occurred, or at least
these vehicles would be much less popular; highway deaths would have
been fewer; and gasoline demands would be lower as would oil imports.
To continue, the world price of oil would have been lower, since
petroleum demand in the United States is the first factor in oil
markets; greenhouse-gas emissions in this country would be lower;
Persian Gulf oil states would have less influence on the global economy
and less significance to American foreign policy; fewer dollars would
have flowed to the oil sheiks; and the trade deficit balance for the
United States would be smaller.
We can pay at the pump, at the hospital or at the Pentagon, but pay we
will. (If anyone asked me, I’d sure rather pay us than OPEC.)
So why isn’t Kerry talking about a revenue neutral tax shift from income taxes to resource and pollution taxes.