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Originally Posted by loquitur
The price of gasoline should go higher. I propose a gas tax to place a floor price of $6/gallon on gasoline. I have to give some thought to what to do with the proceeds - my first instinct is to set up superIRAs for the populace - but to me that's less important than making gasoline more expensive. This is a basic Pigovian tax, and the benefits would flow broadly: environmental improvement, land use rationalization, increased population densities (with corresponding cultural benefits), better mass transit. And best of all it wouldn't force anyone to do anything - if you still want your SUV, you can have it, but you have to be willing to pay for the fillup.
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No way. As a consumer I am fairly pissed now that gas is up around $1.34 for no apparent reason other than the gas companies can do it.
I predicted this during the first Gulf War, when gas jumped about 10 cents per litre to 56 cents. I figured that they would never go back down. Simply because the consumer would be level set to pay the new price.
Now, gas is double last year's price and 40 cents/litre (roughly $1.60/ American gallon) more than it was 2 months ago. WHY? because the gas companies can do it. That's why. There's no Gulf war, no Hurricane Katrina, no supply shortage. Just oil companies fucking with us.
Now entire GM truck plants are shutting down due to low demand. sure not everybody needs a pick up truck, and GM needed a kick in the pants... but sooner or later the oil companies are gong to learn that short term profiteering is just going to drive people away.