25 Nisan 2006 Salı

A Modest Proposal

Not much time to post today, but I felt I had to say something about this. As the Iran "Crisis" continues to be used by Oil Companies as an excuse to hike prices, the government is slowly lurching into action to launch investigations into price gouging. We all already know the results - they'll find a few suspicious signs and obscenely large CEO bonuses but nothing definitive. It may help to bring down gas prices from historic highs, but not immediately.

Instead, let us face what WOULD have an immediate effect on gas prices: reductions in federal, state, and local gas taxes. Does it not make sense in order to keep the economies running for federal and state governments to consider a new and radical bill? Set a price trigger, let us say $3 (adjust for inflation) as our current trigger, when federal, state, and local gasoline taxes would be suspended automatically. This would have an IMMEDIATE effect on the pocketbooks of average Americans, relieve some of the price pressures, and create an urgent need for governments to add pressure to gas companies to bring down their prices, since every day gas was over $3/gallon would be a day of deficit for the budget. Then, when prices dropped below $3/gallon, taxes would be reinstated and normality would resume.

This would also have the extra consequence of helping us to see just how much of our gas dollar goes to taxes. Something the average American could use to be reminded of from time to time.

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