We Needed A Big Gas Tax Like We Need a Scathing Case of Herpes
- From: "Michael Johnson, PE" <cds@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2005 03:14:48 -0400
Sorry Patrick, but the last thing we need to do is give the government one more way to yank money from our wallets. They have more ways to do it than we can count right now. They need to REDUCE the taxes they currently have on gas. Gas tax hurts the people that can least afford it the most. The government collects plenty of taxes. They don't need more money, they need to make do with less.
NoOption5L@xxxxxxx wrote:
Read the following article. Makes you wonder why our government didn't really tax the hell out of fuel during the 90's and use the proceeds to lower other taxes or to fund quality programs.
--- At nearly $3 a gallon, gasoline prices have become a nightmare for many Michigan consumers in recent days.
But not everyone is ready to start boycotting gas stations. In fact, some residents are far less concerned about the current levels than people who experienced problems such as gas rationing that arose following the oil shocks of the 1970s.
"Higher gas prices don't affect me in terms of what I do or where I go," said Curtis Foreman, owner of Foreman Construction LLC in Oak Park.
The 34-year-old Foreman, who spends several hours a day on the road for work, has a Ford F-150 and a Ford F-250 Turbo Diesel he uses for work that he fills up regularly. But gas isn't something he worries about too much. And he's not alone.
Experts agree that the U.S. economy is far less susceptible to energy shocks, particularly sharp increases in crude oil prices, than it was two decades ago. The advent of fuel economy standards that promote more efficient vehicles that get better gas mileage has helped to temper energy consumption.
Even though retail gasoline prices give a lot of people sticker shock, the impact of higher fuel costs is less than it was for a growing number of households and businesses.
"I don't even know what gas costs now," Foreman said Friday. "I just paid $75 to fill up one of my trucks, but I don't remember what it cost a gallon. For me, it's the cost of doing business."
For the record, regular gasoline is averaging $2.72 a gallon, while diesel fuel costs $2.65 a gallon throughout the state, AAA Michigan reports.
The new reality has some economists questioning some old assumptions about the nation's economy.
"The basic theme is that the U.S. economy is less sensitive to energy costs than 20 or 30 years ago. We're not independent of energy. We're just less sensitive," said John Silvia, chief economist of Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, N.C. "Why hasn't consumption fallen off? When the price of energy goes up, it does cut into household budgets, but it's less of a cut than 20 years ago, given that incomes have almost tripled since the 1982."
For example, American consumers spent a total of about $95 billion for gasoline and other petroleum products in 1984. Last year, that figure jumped to $230.4 billion, or 142% higher. But workers saw their income shoot up 196% from $2.26 trillion to $6.69 trillion last year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports.
"Looking over the last 20 years it's clear that incomes have grown faster than the price of energy," said Jay Wortley, senior economist with Michigan's Senate Fiscal Agency in Lansing. "But that's not to say that this recent run-up isn't painful."
To be sure, many Michigan workers and consumers whose incomes have not kept up with rising energy prices are feeling the pain.
The Michigan manufacturing sector, particularly autos, has caught the brunt of higher petroleum prices. The state's unemployment rate of 7% is one of the highest in the country.
Higher petroleum costs also have helped push some auto suppliers into bankruptcy and limited hiring in some delivery businesses. And with global uncertainty pumping fear into the markets, price volatility remains a key part of Michigan's energy equation.
In fact, crude oil jumped $2.08 to settle at $65.35 per 42-gallon barrel Friday after a week of declines, following a refinery fire in Venezuela and an oil protest in Ecuador.
Nevertheless, some Michiganders, while expressing some frustration about pump prices, don't seem as outraged as one might expect if there were a shortage of oil and gasoline.
Michelle Marrs, who recently pumped in $61 of premium gasoline at $2.98 a gallon to fill up her 2003 Land Rover at a Meijer station at 8 Mile and Haggerty in Novi, seemed pragmatic about rising fuel prices.
The Ann Arbor attorney is on the road constantly. But given that she's part of a successful law firm, gas prices aren't as high on her list of priorities as they might be for others.
"I travel a lot for work, so it almost doesn't matter for me," she said. "Now, I'd be happier if it was $2.20 or something, but what are you going to do?" ---
Patrick '93 Cobra
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