> A simple first step would be a sharp increase in the gasoline tax in
> the U.S.
What's the basis for this idea that making driving more expensive would cut down on it? Auto use is growing in Europe despite the high prices. And what do you say to those people who are on the hairy edge of existence and aren't served well by transit who need their (typically under-maintained, over-polluting) cars to get to the minimum wage that keeps them in baseline food, clothing and shelter?
Driving is just for rich people?
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I think a "simple first step" would be to ban, at the federal level (probably by using the Big Stick of withholding highway subsidies), tollbooths. Not only do they cause an enormous amount of extra pollution, but they are a general burden on GDP.
/jordan