Enviro-Girl takes the unpopular view that the federal government should NOT give people a break on gas prices by “temporarily eliminating the gas tax.” In her view, Barak Obama is right on the money dismissing this idea as political pandering by John McCain and Hillary Clinton. (This is not a political endorsement of any candidate, she’s just pointing out their positions on an issue.)
Why not give Americans a break at the gas pump? Let’s dissect Enviro-Girl’s reasons:
* The gas tax funds repairs to our nation’s infrastructure–without money, roads & bridges cannot be fixed. The bridge collapse in Minneapolis illustrated how desperately that maintenance is needed–for our safety and for our nation’s economy. (Try to imagine how we’d function if major highways and bridges were out of commission. No freight could move, no people could travel.) No gas tax = no fixing.
* Gas is a limited resource. Make it cheaper, the more people use it. Make it more expensive, the less people use it.
* Higher gas prices are the result of economic realities (i.e. Supply and Demand). It’s tougher to get and there is too much demand for it. The only way to change this equation is to reduce the demand.
* Since the 1970’s Americans and the rest of the world has known gas is a limited resource, yet we’ve consumed it like oxygen. We’ve had 30 years to make changes, knowing that gas prices were sure to rise. We didn’t make lifestyle changes when it was our option, now that time is up. High prices will change our attitudes about gas-guzzling lifestyles–big SUV’s, long commutes, and huge houses. High prices will force substantial changes in our energy consumption and (here’s the happy ending, folks!) decrease our carbon footprint.
Sure, it sounds all warm and fuzzy and electable to eliminate the gas tax and reduce the cost of fueling our cars. But in the long term it’s not a solution and it just won’t work. It’s supply and demand and that equation just won’t change. Our government has no business passing “feel good” policies that ultimately extend our irresponsible use of natural resources, further weaken our nation’s infrastructure, increase our dependency on foreign oil and decrease our incentive to rethink our nation’s energy policy. Gas and politics is a stinky and dangerous combination, we’re better off keeping them separate.
Posted in issues | Tags: economics, gas prices, politics
