Oil is ruining our environment & yet SUV sales up 32 % in May-RAISE THE GAS TAX!

[mod mom]

what is wrong with people? :mad:

Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson points out that as Congressional debate around energy reform kicks into gear, the President is surprisingly quiet about the most obvious way to tackle excessive fossil fuel consumption: getting people to burn less gas in motor vehicles. Jackson notes that sales of SUVs rose by 32% in May, compared to a year earlier, while sales of cars grew by just 16%. He writes:

If this is still the way that young and affluent Americans display how they've done well, and if this is what we call putting America back to work, then we're in more trouble than we thought. The oil spill began in April, yet SUVs flew out of showrooms in May. Obama says that without a major change in energy policy we will “jeopardize our national security'' and “smother our planet.'' Yet, America still uses the SUV, with its overblown image of safety, as its security blanket, not worrying who or what the blanket smothers.
The oft-repeated absurdity is this: the federal gas tax hasn't changed since 1993. It was 18.4 cents a gallon then, and it's 18.4 cents a gallon now. Taking inflation out of the equation, the effective tax has gone down to 12.2 cents a gallon.


Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/06/09/is-it-time-to-raise-the-gas-tax/?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0r1tWJxbr

and the article suggests:

IT TIME TO RAISE THE GAS TAX!

[Laelth]

1. Hear, hear!

Clinton's 25 cent increase had a lot to do with our ability to balance the budget before the end of his two terms. I vote for a $1.00/gallon tax. It just makes sense. We need to penalize activities that are killing the planet.

:dem:

-Laelth

[jp11]

2. Raise taxes on gas, raise the royalties on oil companies drilling.

I don't know if the reason for the increase in SUV sales is related to discounts or attempts to price them competitively with cars to get them off the lots, or maybe last year was 'worse' than this year but it could just be Americans being all American.

[daggahead]

3. Remove the subsidies to the oil companies, too! n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. No. I drive a 4cyl car and get close to 30mpg and I don't have to be penalized for SUVs.

[mod mom]

5. You are still doing damage to the environment. I drive a Prius & get 50 mpg but....

I believe a tax that will decrease our consumption will benefit this country & the environment. It's not all about us after all.

[Andy823]

13. People have to drive

Many people have to drive to work and they can barely make ends meet now. Putting another dollar a gallon on gas would drag them down even further. What needs to be done is put a huge tax on gas guzzlers and let those who buy them pay it, not force those who could not afford higher prices at the pump to have to put out even more money for fuel, and end up having to cut back on other things they need. If consumption goes down, and oil companies lose money, they will simply raise prices to gain back their profits which will hurt those who have to drive to work even more. No there are ways to get off of he oil bandwagon without putting more pressure on those who can not afford it!

Why not put a tax on junk food, higher taxes on booze, soda pop, ice cream, etc., and use all that money to encourage alternative energy sources? Sure it would put a burden on "some" people, but since "I" don't drink booze, very little soda pop, ice cream, or junk food, it wouldn't bother "ME" as much as some others! Most people "HAVE" to drive, so they "HAVE" to pay the price no matter what it is for gas, nobody "HAS" to drink booze, drink soda pop or any other junk food, they will not suffer if they are taxed like those who have to have gas to get to work! If everyone could afford a car that gets 50 miles or more to a gallon, that would be great, but as I said, when people stop buying as much gas the price will still go up so the oil companies can make their profits. We need to find better ways to get off oil, and we can, but as long as big oil owns most of congress, it won't happen no matte what we do, but higher taxes on gas, forcing those who can't afford it to pay more while the rich, who usually buy the SUV's, can keep on buying gas not matter what the prices is is not the answer!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

16. I have to drive, cannot afford a Prius and have Dramatically decreased my driving. I think taxing SU...

owners would be more appropriate on a separate tax form attached to their 1040.

[Andy823]

7. I agree.

Those who are driving cars that get good gas mileage should "NOT' be penalized for those who buy the gas guzzlers! Put a tax of some kind on the gas guzzlers so that those who want to drive them pay the extra money, not those who buy cars that get good gas mileage! The idea that people who have a hard time affording the monthly cost of living in the first place should haves go pay more for gas, which they need to get back and forth to work, is insane as far as I am concerned! We need to get of the fossil fuel track, I agree, but making those who can barely make ends meet now pay more at the pump is not the way to go about it!

[MindPilot]

9. +1

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. yes.

agreed.

[jp11]

14. I think a problem with that is it will be touted as a luxury tax on the wealthy and we all know who

will fight it tooth and nail.

People who act responsibly shouldn't be penalized for those who don't but in America gas is cheap so we keep feeding the pump for more, raising the price is one good way to get people to conserve and think about more fuel efficient vehicles. For those who do both it doesn't effect them as much as those who have gas guzzlers and don't think about how they drive, the other two groups get 'hit' more and are motivated towards changing.

At the same time that tax can be used to fix roads as mentioned in the article(highway trust fund is nearly bankrupt) and maybe used to promote discounts on hybrids/EV and other renewable fuel vehicles or other ways of getting the country moving forward towards alternate fuel infrastructure and vehicles. If all you do is punish people with gas guzzlers it doesn't dissuade people from continuing to use gas even if their miles are more efficient because it is still cheap, and per the article the tax from 1993 hasn't kept up with inflation. I wouldn't doubt taxes on gas guzzlers would get nerfed a bit by incentives or other promotions to lessen the burden on buyers as dealers and automakers still want to make them and the public still wants the beasts.

[Andy823]

17. True, but

We already are using less oil in this country, and have had huge surpluses of oil, gas, and diesel, and yet even though americans are cutting back, at least those who aren't rich, the price of fuel is not going down, we are not funding alternative sources of energy like we should, and people who don't make a lot of money are the ones suffering, not those who can afford gas no matter what the price is. If you live in a rural area where there is no train systems, or bus systems to get around, you have to buy fuel no matter what the price, and for many you have to cut back on other things, which is hard on those who just get by from pay check to pay check, or those who are out of work and looking for jobs.

By raising taxes at the pump all I see is the poor being hurt, and those that make good money still buying SUV's, motor homes, and the other "TOYS" that consume fuel. So the poor will be sitting at home, cutting costs, saving fuel, while the rich continue to buy whatever gas guzzler, or gas consuming toys they want and enjoy their life. Sorry, but I just don't think that's the way it should be. I would rather see rationing where every person was allowed so much gas per month, enough to get to work, go shopping, and enough that everyone could do something on their day off instead of staying home. If you are frugal, you would be able to carry over your monthly ration, kind of like minutes on some cell phones, but if you burn it all up in some gas guzzler, or toy, well to bad.

Now I know that won't ever happen, but I still say that by increasing taxes on fuel, you don't stop the "waste", you only end up hurting those who can't afford the higher prices at the pump, and allow the rich to continue to do whatever they want because they don't care, and they can afford the price no matter what it is!

[frazzled]

6. Obama was the first to raise fuel-efficiency standards

In a landmark decision on climate change and energy, President Barack Obama will announce tough new vehicle gas-mileage standards on Tuesday, the first ever national limits on greenhouse-gas emissions.
The new policy, which was worked out between Washington, state governments and the auto industry, will require automakers to meet a minimum fuel-efficiency standard of 35.5 miles a gallon by model year 2016 — four years earlier than Congress currently requires. Not only could the move potentially kick-start the sputtering U.S. auto industry, while saving the equivalent of some 1.8 billion barrels of oil, it also raises hopes that the Obama Administration will be able to forge a compromise on the tricky matter of a national cap on greenhouse-gas emissions. "It's an enormous breakthrough for national legislation," says Vickie Patton, a senior attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund. "It ends years of polarization on extraordinarily difficult issues and leaves us with a sense of progress."

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1899534,00.html

Derrick Jackson (and you) should be smarter than to blame this President for being "quiet" about fossil fuel consumption. He mentioned it last night in his speech, and he got done what no other President has. Taxing people right now in an economic downturn only hurts those who can't afford to buy new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Put the blame where it belongs: on hoggish American consumers who want their new SUVs.

[MindPilot]

8. Only if the gas tax is used to fund projects to relieve congestion.

My SUV is a hybrid.

[AngryOldDem]

11. That's why we'll never get off the oil tit.

People like their big toys too much. These aren't the good old days of the 1940s when everyone sacrificed something for the common good.

[kgnu_fan]

12. Oil destroys us all and we are all sleep

[Captain Hilts]

15. Or a tax on vehicles with lower gasoline mileage. nt

[brewens]

18. I pretty much have to have a full sized pickup. It doesn't have a

huge v-8. It's a rebuilt 283. I can only really afford to have one vehicle. The cost of another more fuel efficient car, with all the insurance and everything, would buy a heck of a lot of gas. I suppose I can handle a gas tax increase if it's really effective.
I already rent cars for any long trips. With weekend rates and the difference in fuel costs it's really economical for me. I only take the truck if I have to haul anything.
Fortunately I only live a mile from work. Gas prices could go up a buck or two I can still afford it. If we get a long term benefit from it, things should even out.