Federal commission recommends 40-cent increase in gas tax

Be grateful it isn't worse. $8.59 a gallon this week in the Netherlands.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gas1.html

 

You can make a cross-country drive in the Netherlands on four gallons of gas.

Three gallons in a Prius.

 

Higher gas prices are good for the country long term. We are too dependent on foreign oil and need to find alternatives. We are now in a war because of oil. Don't let anyone make you think otherwise.

From an environmental standpoint we also need to cut back. U. S. Automobiles are responsible for 1.5 billion tons of CO2 gases annually. CO2 is chief culprit of global warming.

Higher prices will force the issue.

 

As bad as this sounds, the U.S. auto industry has proven time and time again that it certainly isn't going to innovate, and we do indeed need to cut back our dependence on oil. If nothing else will compel change, I don't know what will.

 

In case you missed it, higher prices have already forced the issue. Gas prices are double what they were five years ago and are a large part of why the economy is struggling the way it is. Now, when people are finally starting to adjust their patterns and getting used to higher gas prices, let's arbitrarily spike the price ANOTHER 40 cents overnight. Yeah, real fucking smart. I swear, sometimes it's like their trying to see how close they can dance with the dragon before it bites them in the ass. And with the tax hike tied to inflation, there's no repealing this thing. It won't sunset. It'll never go down. Just more wasted money that won't end up where it's supposed to.
Did these people learn nothing from the near-revolt when gas hit $3 a gallon a couple years ago? You can explain it away and calm folks down by citing market forces. There's at least some legitimacy in that. When it's taxes that cause the price to spike, and it's transparent, people will not stand for it.

 

While I certainly would applaud quite a few things that might help break our dependency on oil, pollution-producing industries, etc., this blows ass. For those of us who don't live near cities with mass-transit systems, our car allows us to...you know...work. And for those who would say I should move closer to work....blow me. It's not an option.

I moan about this because it would take the affected industries YEARS to do something about it. And in the meantime, the rest of us get screwed.

Oh...and somehow, thinking about the Dutch paying out the ass for gas doesn't bother me so much. I mean, they have prostitution and weed.

 

He said that? Really? Nice straw man.

 

Ridiculous in what way - other than our perpetual sense of American exceptionalism? It's not like the average Netherlander earns three times what we do in order to afford the more expensive fuel. Nor is a mile traveled in a car in Holland any longer or shorter than it is here. And while the difference in price is almost entirely based on a higher fuel tax, the revenue is spread across all sorts of infrastructure and transportation options. Which makes it easier for the Dutch to park their cars altogether - in the manner of most Europeans.

Nearly every advanced western economy but ours taxes the hell out of gasoline. Doing so promotes mass transit, provides incentives to manufacturers to build more efficient cars and trucks, stimulates development of alternative fuel sources, is better for the environment, and keeps those countries from having to go to war in the Persian Gulf whenever the needle starts to point to 'E'.

As to whether or not it works as a point of pure economics, consider the current relationship between the Euro, the Pound and the Dollar.

As to the higher costs associated with freight and shipping across long distances, you're saying that because our demand is higher, the price should of fuel be lower?

 

jgmacg, I understand what you're saying. But I also think the relative size of the Netherlands should be considered.

If I lived in country half the size of Maine, then gas prices wouldn't be that of a big a deal to me.

 

Then consider the entirety of the EU. Which is fairly large, has high gas taxes from one end to the other, and is in the process of kicking our ass economically.