May 06, 2006

$7 per gallon should do it!

Sent to the New York Times, May 5, 2006, destiny unknown

Levying a new federal consumption tax on gas that would increase its price to $7 a gallon, about the level at which it has been in Europe, would reduce demand for imported oil, provide the government with about $300 billions in taxes to balance the accounts and benefit the environment.

It would destroy many jobs, but it also would create new ones. Better to bite the bullet now before the current economic imbalances erode confidence in the dollar, and anyhow take the price to $7 but then with no gain to pay for the pain. That, of course, would require leadership, which is even scarcer than oil.