Re: raise gas prices (long)

[Simon Favre <simon@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Yes, it's true, Americans are addicted to cheap gas. Unfortunately,
breaking any addiction can be painful. Before everybody rushes out to
write their currently distracted Congress-critters suggesting they
raise the price of gas to $4 a gallon, they should consider the 
economic impact on others who may be less fortunate. An increased
gas tax is a form of sales tax. Sales taxes tend to hurt the poor
more than the rich. A group of highly educated professional people
sitting in front of computers all day making 2 or 3 times the national
average income might say, "Gee whiz, the price of gas went up. Maybe
now they can fix the roads." To a single mother who has to drive her
kids to child care and then work 2 jobs just to make ends meet, it
could be a disaster. How long do you think free pizza delivery would
last if gas went up to $4/gallon? Maybe the pizza delivery man loses
his job and becomes homeless. Those of us old enough to remember the
gas crisis of the mid 70's will agree that it sometimes brought out
the worst in people. There were gas thefts, there were shootings in
gas lines, there were even a few people who got roasted by exploding
trash cans full of gas they were hoarding. It was not a fun time.
Granted, that was a shortage, not just a price increase, but it points
out just how dependant we are on certain resources, and how ugly
things can get when that dependancy is abruptly threatened.

Mass transit is the answer, you say? There's a real chicken-and-egg
situation. It's true that in many parts of the U.S., mass transit is
a joke (especially here in California). The problem is that it takes
a lot of money to build effective mass transit systems. Raising the
price of gas could generate a lot of money for such uses, but doing
so suddenly would force a lot of people off the road onto inadequate
mass transit systems that would be immediately overloaded. You would
almost have to improve the infrastructure before the demand existed
in order to make the transition smoother. This is a difficult idea to
sell. So, you can't build the system before raising the money, and you
can't raise the tax before building the system without causing major
economic disruption. IMO, the only sensible way to do it would be to
gradually raise the gas tax while putting the money generated into mass
transit and fuel-efficient vehicles. You would still have the problem
of low-income families and people who drive for a living. Creating a
system of credits or exemptions or "gas stamps" (like food stamps)
would only invite new kinds of abuses of the system. Increased gas
prices would figure into the cost of living, which is a contributor
to inflation. Rising inflation in the U.S. would have global economic
impact. There are no simple answers. Don't kid yourself by saying that 
there are.

As others have pointed out, it isn't fair to hold any vehicle to
standards that were not in effect at the time it was first sold. It's
equally absurd to force them from the roads during commute hours. OTOH,
I am not opposed to a "luxury tax" on vehicles set by price, or low gas
mileage, or possible increased public health costs. Somebody who can
afford a $40,000 SUV can probably afford an additional $100, $200 or
even $300 a year "environmental impact fee" perhaps only for the first
5 years of the vehicle's life. If this luxury tax affects the new Alfas
when they come back the U.S. (even if I have to look at Volvos to see
one), so be it. If I want one, I'll pay it. Anyone who can't afford one
is likely to be buying a used vehicle that would only have to meet the 
emissions, safety, and fuel economy standards appropriate for that model 
year.

It's truly unfortunate that most of the policy makers in one of the
largest economies on the planet are not engaging in rational, public
debate on weighty economic topics, preferring instead to concern 
themselves with just how much it's going to cost a President to have
a stained dress cleansed from the public memory.

Can we get back to Alfas now?

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