[lbo-talk] A Case for a Higher Gasoline Tax

jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com
Tue Jan 10 10:31:20 PST 2006



> the idea is to use price to change behavior.

Given almost zero support for this kind of thing in the past -- when gas went to $3 from $2 recently, consumption went up! -- I don't see why you'd think that this would work.


> With a fat gas tax that largely spared the bottom 50%, the economics
> and politics of transportation would change a lot.

What needs to change is the logistics, not the economics or politics.


> I realize it's an enormous problem, but you've got to start
> somewhere. Where would you start?

I'm not so sure how enormous it is, but I'd start by making public transportation more useful and more available. Three examples from my neck of the woods:

- Smaller busses

http://www.actransit.org/news/articledetail.wu?articleid=9aa6076a

- Express service added to regular, coupled with technology to

improve operating performance: smart corridors, helpful signs (that

tell when the next bus is coming), signal priority, bypass lanes

http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/sanpablo.wu

- Extensive connections through regional hubs

http://www.actransit.org/planning_focus/transbay_details.wu

The question arises: how to pay for it? Well, you just pay for it. No one asks how we're going to pay for highways, we just pay for them: we need them, so we pay for them.

----

But then: I'm against all the little "death by a thousand cuts" taxes out there: decide what your priorities are, figure out how much it costs, and go forward. What's so hard about that? Don't answer.

/jordan



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