Cheap gas, as long as it lasts
Every time we visit my wife's hometown of Columbus in Polk County, we drive down I-26 about five miles, over the state line to Landrum, S.C., to fill up with gas.
Last week, we paid $1.449 per gallon in Landrum compared to $1.529, the lowest price available in Columbus. The difference is the tax: South Carolina's gas tax is 13 cents/gallon less than North Carolina's. So, actually we were kind of ripped off only saving eight cents. Usually we do better.
The point is, Thomas Friedman's call for a much higher federal gas tax isn't likely to win much popular support. If a typical motorist, like myself, will drive 10 miles out of his way to pay a little less gas tax, who thinks Americans will go for a bump up of a dollar or two per gallon on the federal levy? And make no mistake: That's how much it would take to achieve the goals Friedman outlines.
Yes, we've got to reduce our dependence on foreign oil -- although, frankly, I don't mind that our No. 1 source is Canada.
Yes, we have to start using less oil altogether -- someday.
But, sorry, I just don't agree with Friedman that paying $1.44/gallon for gas right now is such a terrible thing. On the contrary, it's a blessing. The money we save at the pump can be spent for other necessities.
I'm no gas hog. I drive a little car that gets up to 37 mpg on the highway. I rode the PART bus to work today. I don't think I waste more gas at $1.44 than I did at $3.99. But I'm a lot happier paying $1.44.
No doubt that politicians, bureaucrats and alternative-energy advocates like Friedman can think of lots of fine things to do with the extra revenue if the government were to add a whopping $2/gallon to the gas tax.
But that would be my money, and I can think of good ways to spend it, too.
Besides, the government might spend it on boondoggles or projects that will stick us all with higher energy costs. We could pay on both ends instead of enjoying some savings now.
Yes, we should prepare for the world after oil. That requires government and private investment.
But as far as my budget is concerned, I'm fine with cheap gas again for as long as it lasts.
Comments (6)
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Doug:
The problem is Friedman and others really don't believe that you do know how to spend your money the right way. Your selfish desires (and mine) conflict with the greater good. We have a struggle between individual liberty in which you and I make choices based on our likes and dislikes, tempered by information such as prices, and a world in which the folks in Washington make choices for us based on their "superior insight". I vote for you.
Best regards,
Paul Daniels
Posted on December 30, 2008 9:13 AM
The "liberty" card is an easy one to play. And I don't actually have a problem with it, because the market price is usually the best signal of relevant market information. Moreover, oil prices will go up again and provide ample incentives for people to find alternatives.
But neither of you is being fair to Friedman's main point, which falls a bit short of advocating a commie plot to undo your right to gasoline. After all, we're bailing out Detroit in large part because it didn't have time to adjust to the reality of high oil prices before recession hit. We're asking Detroit to make the investments that everyone knows they'll have to make. If we don't do something about gasoline prices, the bailout will cost all that much more. So which is it? Add more to the cost of the bailout and put it on the taxpayers' tab? Or have taxpayers pay more for gasoline and increase the chances that the bailout will be more than just a government boondoggle? Taxpayers pay more in either case, but the latter approach is more efficient and it makes more sense in the long run.
I'm no fan of the bailout, and I've suggested that maybe it's time for these stupid dinosaurs to go extinct. But if we're going to bail them out, why not do it intelligently?
Posted on December 30, 2008 12:03 PM
But hey, if this is about feelings rather than policy, then I also love paying these low gas prices while I can.
Posted on December 30, 2008 12:15 PM
Yes, I'm offering an entirely emotional expression on this post. I'd have to come up with something more responsible if I were writing an editorial.
Posted on December 30, 2008 12:51 PM
Let me get this straight: We should levy hundreds of billions of dollars of gas taxes on Americans to protect the Feds' 15 billion investment? I'm going to have to think about this one for a while.
Posted on January 2, 2009 12:45 PM
"because the market price is usually the best signal of relevant market information."
Not really.
The free market is a myth.
It depends on what markets, when, and who stands to loose or gain
I submit:
Enron ( Energy futures )
Tulips
Lehman brothers
World Com
Homes
Who remembers the soy bean oil fiasco years ago
Remember
With all the mathematics, economics is still a Social Science
For every bail out guy there is a let them sink guy.
As a people we should decide how much regulation/control we want or don't want.
There is no right or wrong.
Thats only the case in the GOD arguments.
Then you simply kill each other.
Posted on January 2, 2009 1:59 PM