This nation's reliance on gasoline will not decrease while we have tax prices that do not account for the externalities from gasoline on our society and environment. This tax does 2 things: 1) Raises money in the short term; 2) Encourages development of alternative energy.
However, we should get the GM's ruling on this. If it would discourage driving too much to the point that we would lose revenue, at this point in our budget, I think it is more important to get our budget balanced and then work on pushing environmental responsibility.
I agree on these two points. I would probably support this legislation as is and would absolutely support it if the increase was a little smaller.
