Re: Gas Solution: Reasonable?

Larry G wrote:
On Jun 22, 10:28 am, bmw110...@xxxxxxxxxxx (1100GS_rider) wrote:
Larry G <gross.la...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
it just seems not too productive to have the government collect higher
taxes from everyone and then turn around and give it back
Social security, medicare, medicaid, farm subsidies, etc etc etc.

Retirement and medical care - I can see collecting money from people
as a kind of an enforced savings that will be needed .. and many
folks, especially younger and healthier ones don't even think they'll
need financial help until they do and have not saved up for it.

I'm opposed to subsidies unless they are for people who cannot fend
for themselves, kids (education, health care), handicapped, and the
elderly and sick.

The Europeans view universal mobility the same way they do universal
education and universal health care.

The mobility does not favor automobile owners but rather is provided
as a network that anyone on foot can use.. also whether it be urban or
suburban and even rural.

Our transportation policy - despite our attitudes about personal
ownership of cars - takes 3 cents out of the 18 cents Fed gas tax for
bus transit for those who are said to be "underserved".

If we charged $8 a gallon and spent the $4 on building a nationwide
and inter/intra city rail/bus/transit network - I would think we could
end up with a system more like Europe.

I'm not advocating this.. just pointing out that $4 a gallon tax is a
heck of a lot of money - it's what the Europeans charge for gas - and
it builds one heck of a lot of rail/transit/bus etc...

We seem to have made our choices.. and hopefully we are satisfied with
those choices...

and if we are not.. perhaps there is some happy middle ground between
what Europe does and what we currently do..but one thing is for sure -
gasoline will not get any cheaper. and if we give folks tax credits
for buying/converting more efficient cars - we'll succeed in cutting
gasoline usage as well as gasoline tax revenues....

right?

Service issues aside, you don't think $8 gas would crash the economy so bad it would make 1929 look like the good ol' days LONG before the mass transit system would EVER get built? There's a lot of people that are struggling to afford the $4 gas and the economy is already weak.

Take care,
Rich

God bless the USA

--
Pat Paulsen (1927-1997) for President - 2008

Even though he's dead it makes about much sense
to vote for him as it does for the choices
that we have who are living. At least he's not
going change his position on anything.
.

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