Whether you agree with it or not, the current administration is dead set on reducing the country's current level of gasoline consumption. The thrust of its plan so far has been to push impending CAFE regulations from 2020 to 2016, a supply side solution that many see as flawed since it doesn't encourage consumers to buy more fuel efficient cars and trucks.
The alternative most often discussed is an increase in federal gas taxes, a change that would spur demand for fuel efficient vehicles that manufacturers would then have incentive to meet. Seems logical enough, but there's not a politician alive that would want his or her name on that bill.
That sentiment was echoed by Steven Chu , the current Energy Secretary, in an interview yesterday with the Financial Times. Although Chu has voiced support for such a plan in the past, he told the FT that there's no support for it right now. "At this moment, let me be frank, it is not politically feasible."
So in other words, although the Energy Secretary thinks a gas tax would be effective, the rest of the government will satisfy itself with a plan that it knows isn't likely to work. Oh well.
FT: Rise in taxes on U.S. petrol 'not feasible'
jederino says:
04:53 PM, 05/28/09
This is one argument against professional politicians, who primarily want to preserve their jobs. It should be a tour of duty, and limited to 2 terms.
bc1960 says:
06:31 PM, 05/28/09
Welcome to democracy. We want the government to force us to be virtuous, so we can bitch about it, without making difficult choices ourselves.
greenpony says:
06:41 PM, 05/28/09
I should be a politician so I could be a pussy too.
bc1960 says:
06:42 PM, 05/28/09
Oh, btw, don't claim CAFE can't work--it worked to get us from the 70s to the 1985 levels which were then frozen for 25 years. Instead of fuel pricing, it's vehicle and option pricing (e. g., the tariff on engines, transmissions, and accessories that use more fuel are raised to discourage purchase, or cover the fines if too many people choose them anyway) that pushes consumers to make choices. Ironically, this benefits the manufacturers more than the government--which, too many people forget, is actually the citizenry.
cwc1 says:
06:55 PM, 05/28/09
I'm not for the government meddling and further mucking up the economy and individuals' choices, but since they're determined to go against what is prudent, how about this?
Instead of punishing people who don't do what wrong willed politicians want them to do, why wouldn't they consider giving people a positive incentive? Why not an income tax credit? Because the mention of a tax increase causes a Pavlovian response, with their mouths salivating and dollar signs in their eyes.
dlamcpa says:
06:01 PM, 05/29/09
Look at what the gax tax did for the highways. NOTHING. Every states want to issue bonds to repair highways which they should have been setting aside for every year for such project. Look at the roads. It is worst now than 10 years ago. But our taxes continue to increase. We are paying alot and getting nothing in return. All those people claims that it will do this and do that. Well someone pocketed without doing the works or claim they will be doing the works.
cw910 says:
09:08 AM, 05/30/09
I am strongly in favor of much higher gas taxes (say, keeping the minimum price at $3-4/gallon) if those dollars are put into transportation technology and infrastructure. Indeed, I prefer this approach because it puts the decision in teh consumer's hands. Also, dlamcpa is simply wrong. We've gotten plenty in return from our highway investments. Take an objective look at what roads and highways were like prior to the 1950s. We just haven't invested enough or in the best directions. Also, we build highways to a lower quality than in Europe in order to keep a steady stream of repair jobs that insure jobs and votes.
crashtestdingo says:
04:40 PM, 05/31/09
What about rationing gasoline instead of taxing it more?
deaconnc says:
07:32 PM, 05/31/09
Hell no to a gas tax! And no to this 39 mpg CAFE nonsense too. If I wanted to drive a hybrid, I'd buy one. There are plenty of choices for fuel economy up and down the spectrum available today.
Why don't we get an energy use strategy that prioritizes where we should be utilizing oil-based energy sources? Let's eliminate the use of oil to generate electricity and for home heating, for example, and focus on using oil where it's most difficult to substitute -- as a raw material (which we have no way to replace) and for transportation. It's possible to produce 100% of our electricity needs from existing technologies -- nuclear, wind, solar, coal. Let's get busy on that first, and the gas mileage thing becomes much less of an issue.
scottyscooter says:
06:54 AM, 06/ 1/09
I'm pretty sure that in a free society the marketplace is supposed to determine the cost of a gallon of gas as well as how many mpg a car gets, not a central planning government.
dagmar3 says:
06:59 AM, 06/ 1/09
In my state, only 83 cents of each federal gas tax dollar gets sent back here; but New York gets $1.13 from each dollar they send in.
All federal tax money is used to buy votes for those already in power.
The answer to every problem in this country is not "let's send more money to Washington."
rsrtampaa3 says:
11:34 AM, 06/ 1/09
Tax the you-know-what out of ridiculous vehicles like Hummers and Suburbans and leave the smart people like myself who drive sensible vehicles alone!
carswapper says:
12:41 PM, 06/ 1/09
What part of "Hell No" would be hard for the gov't to understand when it comes to gas tax.
How about pumping money into alternative fuel vehicles. I m sure fuel cell vehicles like the fcx clarity would sell well if there was infrastructure to support it. Yes Im tired of the gas price roller coaster but making gas prices as high as european gas is stupid. They have mass transit that tends to be first rate while its not that great here. I would love to get 39 mpg out of my minivan while still only paying 2 bucks a gallon. I dont want to pay 5. a gallon to fill up my old mustang either. My comment maybe all over the place but that is only inorder to be just like the entire auto/gas/transportation/energy industry in this country