While I am thankful I don't drive, partially because gas prices are rising like crazy and I am barely struggling to feed myself (luxurious feeding of course, tonight I dined on Pate Chinois just like Grandmama makes, almost) but also because I don't want to deal with parking and a car in general. Either way, in class I hear about cars and gas prices all the time. Yes, gas prices are rising in the US, and you know what? It's a good thing, I think it should go up more. People drive all over the place, for no good reason, and when there are so many better ways to get around. And now since we will get more space on the bus (see S's post below) maybe the bus won't seem as bad any more.
But really, gas tax in the US has been at 9¢ a gallon for years. This is not a percentage tax, it is a straight tax and therefore has not gone up as the price of oil has gone up. However, vehicle efficiency has increased, and driving has increased, and damage to the roads has increased as they age, and we NEED more money in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to support our road system. If it were up to me, we would walk everywhere and the gas tax would actually be pointless because we wouldn't be using gas for road use, but we would have to find another way to maintain our infrastructure. Since I know that walking everywhere is not realistic (although I definitely saw a lady in her 80s walking home with her two bags of groceries the other day and hope that will be me when I reach that age) I think we need to rework our taxation of driving system. We should implement a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax, but I know that won't happen any time soon, and then part of the point of buying a Prius or electric car will be out, until we figure out how to get a VMT tax, the gas tax needs to go up.
This idea is not only about getting more money into the HTF but also to decrease the desirability of driving, check out this treehugger.com article about the gas prices and the link in there from GOOD Magazine about the price of gas in other countries. If gas prices go up, people still find a way to survive, look at Europe, it's not like the UK's economy is dead because gas is over $8 a gallon, they just found a more efficient way to get around, and it is time we catch up!
R
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