For some in Washington the main purpose is to push us into green energy, such as mass transit. They don't want people to have the freedom to come and go as they please, IMO.
They want the cost of driving to hurt you in your wallet, so you'll stop it. Then you'll agree that yea, I guess my state could use public transit an high speed rail.
Steven Chu Eases Up on the Gas Price Pedal - NYTimes.com
He had told the Wall Street Journal last September , “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe,” a statement likely to give some commuters a case of road rage. I think that is around $10 gal.Mr. Chu draws wide approval for stressing energy efficiency and new technology as approaches to the problems of energy prices and global warming. But his science-based frankness sometimes contrasts with ordinary energy politics, which are often more centered on narrower economic interests.
For example, in a presentation at Berkeley in April, 2007, now preserved on YouTube,
he declared, “coal is my worst nightmare,” words previous energy secretaries would be unlikely to utter.
“We have lots of fossil fuel,’’ he said. “That’s really both good and bad news. We won’t run out of energy but there’s enough carbon in the ground to really cook us.’’
UPDATE: Meanwhile, McCain, who supports a summer-long suspension of the federal gas tax, is trying to capitalize on Obama's remarks that a "gradual" increase in prices at the pump could encourage a badly needed change in US energy policy.This was when gas was $4 a gal.
Asked on CNBC about whether high prices could end up helping, Obama replied, "I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment. The fact that this is such a shock to American pocketbooks is not a good thing. But if we take some steps right now to help people make the adjustment, first of all by putting more money into their pockets, but also by encouraging the market to adapt to these new circumstances more quickly, particularly US automakers, then I think ultimately, we can come out o f this stronger and have a more efficient energy policy than we do right now."
That prompted this missive this morning from McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds:
"Barack Obama's assertion that the only problem with higher gas prices is that they've gone up too fast -- saying he'd prefer a 'gradual' increase instead -- shows how clearly out of touch he is with Americans struggling with record gas prices. At a time when Americans need relief at the pump, Barack Obama's support for higher gas prices and higher energy taxes is just another example of his weak economic judgment."
While the reduction and modification of our driving habits may very well be the goal of the liberal elite of today, the fact remains that the initial impetus behind the Federal Gas Tax was and still remains revenue. Here is a brief history behind the current 18.4 cents per gallon tax:
-The Revenue Act of 1932 approves a 1 cent per gallon tax on gasoline which was set to expire in June of 1934
-National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, which President Hoover approved on June 6, 1933, extended the tax and increased it to 1.5 cents. So much for a temporary tax.
-The Revenue Act of 1934 (May 10, 1934) rescinded the half-cent increase. The 'temporary' 1 cent per gallon tax increase remains!
-Revenue Act of 1941 (September 20, 1941) made the gas tax permanent and increased it to 1.5 cents a gallon to help pay for the country's defense buildup.
-The Revenue Act of 1951 (October 21, 1951) increased the gas tax to 2 cents as a revenue source during the Korean War that began in June 1951, with the increase to be repealed on April 1, 1954. There we go with another 'temporary tax', anyone want to bet if it will be repealed?
- Excise Tax Reduction Act of 1954 (March 31, 1954), which extended the tax to April 1, 1955, and the Tax Rate Extension Act of 1955 (March 30, 1955), which extended it again to April 1, 1956. I win the bet (twice).
-Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1959 (September 21, 1959) increased the tax, but only to 4 cents on a temporary basis.
-The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1961, which President John F. Kennedy approved on June 29, 1961, the 5th anniversary of the 1956 Act, retained the 4-cent tax and extended it through September 30, 1972. Another broken promise of a temporary tax increase.
-The tax remained 4 cents a gallon until the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, which President Ronald Reagan approved on January 6, 1983. The Act increased the tax to 9 cents, but the legislation created two separate accounts in the Highway Trust Fund. The Highway Account would receive 8 cents of the revenue while the new Mass Transit Account would receive 1 cent of the gas tax.
-The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (October 17, 1986) added 0.1 cent tax on gasoline for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.
-On November 5, 1990, President George H. W. Bush approved the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. It embodied a compromise the Republican President had reached with the Democratic-controlled Congress to reduce the Federal budget deficit. The Act increased the Federal gas tax by 5 cents, with half the increase going to the Highway Trust Fund, the other half to deficit reduction.
-The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, signed by President Bill Clinton on August 10, 1993, increased the gas tax by 4.3 cents, bringing the total tax to 18.4 cents per gallon. The increase was entirely for deficit reduction, with none credited to the Highway Trust Fund. However, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, which President Clinton approved on August 5, 1997, redirected the 4.3-cents general fund gas tax increase to the Highway Trust Fund.
-This is where our gas tax is today.
As you can plainly see, our gas tax has a rich and storied past but none of which was to influence or suggest that we should moderate our consumption. To suggest otherwise is a complete re-write of our own recent history and only perpetuates the liberal agenda.
