"Whatta Maroon"
Posted on 08/14/2005 5:07:39 PM PDT by SmithL
OK, I realize everyone is worried about rising oil prices, and the painful news you get at the gas pump every time you fill up that 24-gallon behemoth you use to go shopping and pick up your kids. Heck, even filling up your Prius these days can be a harrowing experience.
But let's stop for a moment amid our fear and embrace it. Let's stand still and wonder how we can turn this oil-mad conundrum on its ear and use it to our benefit.
What if we, as Californians, put a huge tax on gasoline, and the federal government followed suit, and so did all the other states? I mean a significant tax, say $6 or $7 a gallon. Make gasoline cost $10 a gallon at the pump. Ouch. Suddenly that SUV costs 240 bucks to fill up. Scary to think about, and what a horrible thing that would be, right?
But let's follow this for a moment and look at the repercussions. With the tax money from gasoline flowing into the state's coffers, suddenly little pesky problems like schools, mass transit, bridges, highways and police officers all go away. For the first time in decades, both the state and federal finances are in order. Fewer cars on the roads mean less stress on resources such as police and fire departments, as well as highway-repair crews.
But not being a macro-economist, I am more interested in the cultural and anthropological changes such a tax would bring to our lives. With the price of gas skyrocketing like that, most people will be forced to take public transportation: light rail, BART, trains and buses. Granted, in the early moments of such a tax, the price of gas would cause some hearts to flutter in the city's maintenance yards
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
in the long run high oil is good for us, in the short term (1-2 years) it causes massive economic dislocation
Somebody please find and shoot the author of this madness, I'm on the other coast.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Why not tax gasoline to death? It has worked for tobacco without affecting the tobacco farmers at all.
This is the stuff John Anderson proposed in the Jimmy Carter landslide year. The press thought it was great.
Liberals believe if it already hurts, they'll make it hurt even more.
yea, lets start the next great depression to save us all... lmao
Oh, that's a GOOD one!
All those problems will be fixed, and all those legislators will say "Hey, look at all this money coming in! We'd better cut those gas taxes now that they're no longer needed!"
Yeah. Sure. Riiiiiiiiight.
The San Francisco queers would feast on the resulting depression.
What a dingbat.
But who cares about people's ability to get food, eh? I mean, let us help pulbic school buildings and jobs by keeping the kids starving.
Communist liberal Modus Operandi: if there's a fire, save the books, not the kids.... abortion society has no point of living and should promote abortion by just jumping off the bridges and sparing us their agony.
"Whatta Maroon"
Instead of ten dollars per gallon, why not one hundred per gallon. Just think of all the great social programs that could be enacted. Not only would we be able to meet current levels of funding, but we could have so much more FREE STUFF!!!
Don't forget that pesky little Social Security problem. Might have to add another dollar to the tax to cover that one to make your reasoning perfect.
Meant to direct this to Mr. Richards, not SmithL.
No worries any more...Belize just struck oil...2000 barrels a day... what a gusher...we are saved!
LOL! The idiot doesn't even realize this is a prescription for a recession and dramatically lower tax revenues. You'd think they would learn eventually.
Gee, this is such a great idea!!! Imagine how well it will go over in places that don't have BART or HOV lanes. Imagine how much they will like this idea in small town and rural America?
But why stop at $10/gallon gas? Why not $50/gallon? How about income taxes that are 90%? State and local taxes that are 48%?
When we get all of that, maybe we taxpayers can invent a catchy phrase that goes , um, "no taxation without representation." Something like that.
It would seem that this author wants to create an America in which the past is prologue.
I agree that they should raise gas prices in CA. Also NY, and New England.
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