Posted by
Aaron McLucas on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 7:26:58 PM
I don't care much for
this idea, but it shouldn't be a big deal to the people of California.
...there is something they could do
TODAY that does not need federal approval:
Raise their state gas taxes to $4-a-gallon thus pushing the cost at the pump to $8.
As I reported in the
Detroit News in February, economists agree — and real-world evidence proves — that raising the price of driving is the quickest way to get consumers to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. In Europe, for example, gas taxes have goosed the price of gas to $8-a-gallon with the direct result that average fuel economy stands at 39 miles per gallon, (compared with 24 mpg in the U.S.) or within reach of California’s 2020 goal.
I agree that this would work, just like cigarettes, tax people into submission. But at what price to the economy? What about free market choice? What about those of us who like are SUV's?
Speaking of cigarettes...I wonder if anyone has done a study on the effects of global warming of the price of health care?