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Gas Prices: Higher not Lower

We're stuck -- $4 gas and steadily rising pump prices. So McCain and Hillary say let's lower or eliminate the modest 18 cents federal gas tax, which pays for road repairs and mass transit. That only would serve to discourage conservation behaviors and keep demand up, which ends up increasing prices anyway....

By Jonathan D. Miller | Updated on April 29, 2008

We’re stuck — $4 gas and steadily rising pump prices. So McCain and Hillary say let’s lower or eliminate the modest 18 cents federal gas tax, which pays for road repairs and mass transit. That only would serve to discourage conservation behaviors and keep demand up, which ends up increasing prices anyway. But most people in this country depend on their cars to go anywhere and do anything — work, school, shopping, recreation, kids play dates. That’s how we developed our metropolitan areas over the last half century, building roads and more roads to farther flung subdivisions, separated from strip shopping centers and office parks. About 80% of us live totally car dependent lifestyles.  Cheap gas and low gas taxes (one-tenth of many Euro countries) made it all possible.  Now those days are over and it begins to hurt… bad.

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