05-06-2011, 03:00 PM
Grace62 wrote:
I would favor higher taxes on gasoline at all levels of production and at the retail level, with the money used to help clean up the air, public transportation, and alternative fuel development, if that's what you mean. That's a fairly common idea that gets tossed around a lot.
See, I wasn't far off in "assuming" what you think. I know who I am dealing with. What you are saying is verbatim what Friedman says. On the surface it sounds so good. You are paying $4 a gallon anyway. WHy pay it to oil companies? Two issues. One, if there is enough tax on gas to make it $4 when in reality it is $2.50, then when prices rise, that $4 now becomes $5.50. But the most glaring error in your assumption is that the gas tax will go to alternative energy research. You know darn well the government does whatever it wants with the money. Look what they are doing with road toll revenues? What did they do with tobacco settlement money? Cure cancer? Europeans paid $5 a gallon when we were paying $2 for generations. NOTHING came out of Europe in terms of new alternatives. They just spent the money.