Raise The Gas Tax
May 19, 2009
Yglesias (he’s only 28??!!) cheers the new fuel-efficiency standards but makes the important point that we need to raise the tax on gasoline to promote real change:
“it would be better to have higher gasoline taxes as a complement or a supplement for tighter fuel efficiency standards. The reasons are twofold. One is that CAFE does nothing to encourage the purchase of more fuel efficient used cars except on a very long time horizon. The other, more important one, is that fuel consumption has two determinants—the fuel economy of the vehicle, and the number of miles the vehicle drives. And, clearly, different people drive different amounts. Some people’s commutes are longer than others. Some people people car pool. Some people walk or bike or use transit. And this stuff makes a difference to overall fuel consumption. Any policy that leaves this entire suite of issues off the table is distinctly sub-optimal.”
I say raise the gas tax, but I drive an older jeep (passed on from my parents) so not until I can afford a new fuel efficient car!
I was searching for The Dark Side excerpt on Cheney and biochemical suit and your site came up. I really enjoyed it, and happy to find someone else who likes to make political based posts.