One suggestion that economists make is that “the government should phase in a tax on gasoline to give drivers an incentive to travel fewer miles and use the revenue to develop mass transit and increase research in alternative methods of propulsion.” Taxing gasoline began in
Today, gas taxes are determined both on the federal and state level and can be more than 25¢ per gallon on gas purchases. Could an increase in taxes on gas really solve the gas price hike or encourage Americans to search for alternative transportation measures?
Congress searches for phony villains in gas price hike
4 comments:
Gas tax is interesting...that's where the .009 came from, if I remember correctly. Ever since the EPA came into effect, manufacturers have been trying to get back to the pre-EPA days of MPG and POWER! Government at its finest. I'll stop there, but there's so much available on the topic. For now, I'll just keep on sucking down the dead dinos in my Barracuda(which gets the same MPG as my truck, if I can keep my foot off the floor) and just drive a little less.
Good luck in the blogosphere!
mark
If the government wants us to stay in one place they manipulate the cost of transportation. That comment came from my dad over the dinner table over 30 years ago and I believe he was right!
economics, i like it!
America has one of, if not the lowest gas taxes in the world (I think only about 2%). I'm not sure what you mean about whether a gas tax will solve the gas price hike, but I think it would definitely change taxpayers' behavior.
see here for a good explanation of gax taxes and why economists go for it: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/10/pigou-club-manifesto.html
Think of countries like Britain (I know I'm a sucker) -- gas is an incredible $9+ a gallon, and people drive less, drive much smaller, and much more fuel efficient cars. (ian is amazed by our trucks and hummers!)
Unfortunately, a gax tax is for obvious reasons, not very politically viable -- though economists are getting continually louder -- and would probably hurt the lower income households hardest the first. Plus, America is so big and does not have the public transportation options other countries they do. Which is probably why you see economists advocating for a gas tax, slowly phased in.
Even steven levitt joined the gas tax supporters today! http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/2007/06/18/hurray-for-high-gas-prices/
Anne Frank is a very intersting topic for many students. I also enjoyed the video and the other posts. Gas tax.. what a wonderful idea! :( Miriam
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