Let’s raise gas taxes
But if our goal is to get Americans to drive less and use more fuel-efficient vehicles, and to reduce air pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases, gas prices need to be even higher. The current federal gasoline tax, 18.4 cents a gallon, has been essentially stable since 1993; in inflation-adjusted terms, it’s fallen by 40 percent since then.
Politicians of both parties understandably fear that raising the gas tax would enrage voters. It certainly wouldn’t make lives easier for struggling families. But the gasoline tax is a tool of energy and transportation policy, not social policy, like the minimum wage…
Other industrialized democracies have accepted much higher gas taxes as a price for roads and bridges and now depend on the revenue. In fact, Germany’s gas tax is 18 times higher than the United States’ (and seven times more if the average state gas tax is included). The federal gasoline tax contributed about $25 billion in revenues in 2009.
Blowback
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What a great idea… for so many reasons.
1) It’ll raise the cost of transportation, and therefore the cost of everything. This will slow our runaway economy.
2) It’s a regressive tax, so the poor will suffer more from this tax.
3) This will work toward pushing lighter/cheaper vehicles; more likely to result in death from automobile accidents.
Who could oppose such worthwhile goals?
gekkobear on February 22, 2013 at 5:45 PM
I love it when they compare European countries to the United States as if comparing apples to elephants is relevant. Because everyone knows comparing transportation policy of a country smaller than Montana is totally the same!
ButterflyDragon on February 22, 2013 at 6:04 PM
They whine about the infrastructure; but when the Clinton administration raised the gas tax, for the first time in history, part of it was allocated to the Federal rat hole instead of roads and bridges. They then withheld spending funds in the Highway Trust Fund to hide the true level of government spending. When they did spend it, much was siphoned for bike paths and rail rapid transit. They just want more to squander.
FirelandsO3 on February 22, 2013 at 6:40 PM
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