safe
1 GW
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2006
- Messages
- 5,681
Somehow I doubt anyone on this board would disagree that gasoline taxes need to be raised so as to encourage alternative energy concepts:
The question is how to do it best?
Here's my plan...
Start by every month increasing the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon. Continue this until the overall price of gasoline at the pump gets to about $5 a gallon then ease off. If there is a sudden oil shock that places the economy at real risk then you might have to suspend part of the taxes so that the price hovers around $5 a gallon, but at no time once the price gets to $5 do you ever let it go below that level again. This will become the new "bottom line" and everyone will do their calculations based on this reasonably fixed number. As time goes on you incrementally increase the overall price above $5 to account for inflation and to add just a little more "pain", but not so much as to invoke an emotional reaction within the population that rises up to repeal the gas tax.
Once gasoline is at $5 a gallon it will be easy to replace what's out there now with alternatives like electric vehicles and within a decade or two the issue of gasoline would be history...
The question is how to do it best?
Here's my plan...
Start by every month increasing the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon. Continue this until the overall price of gasoline at the pump gets to about $5 a gallon then ease off. If there is a sudden oil shock that places the economy at real risk then you might have to suspend part of the taxes so that the price hovers around $5 a gallon, but at no time once the price gets to $5 do you ever let it go below that level again. This will become the new "bottom line" and everyone will do their calculations based on this reasonably fixed number. As time goes on you incrementally increase the overall price above $5 to account for inflation and to add just a little more "pain", but not so much as to invoke an emotional reaction within the population that rises up to repeal the gas tax.
Once gasoline is at $5 a gallon it will be easy to replace what's out there now with alternatives like electric vehicles and within a decade or two the issue of gasoline would be history...