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Here are two actions we should (but won’t) take: 1) Increase gas tax by 100%, 200%, 500% or more. 2) make the tax money available for schools and law enforcement as well as transportation. This will accomplish four goals: 1) raise revenue for underfunded state needs, 2) penalize people who are "over-autoed" - that is, a single person who owns/drives a huge SUV or 4WD when they could get by just fine with a small gas efficient car, 3) increase usage of mass transit to reduce need for more highways, 4) encourage/force auto manufacturers to increase efficiency through innovation. It has been shown repeatedly that increasing gas costs only reduces consumption for a short period until the public recovers from sticker shock. Other countries pay $6.00 - $9.00 per gallon and therefore buy smaller, efficient cars and use mass transit. Gasoline should fall into the "sin tax" category along with cigarettes and booze. IMHO.
Gretchen Cotter
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