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Raise the Gasoline Tax? How un-Republican, eh?
October 14, 2006 1:22 AM

A recent article in the NY Times details how many Republicans are advocating for raising the gasoline tax. Named are Alan Greenspan, Martin Feldstein, Andrew Samwick (chief economist of the Council of Economic Advisors from July 2003-2004), N. Gregory Mankiw (Harvard economist who served as Chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors from 2003-2005), etc.

Granted, raising the tax on gasoline would certainly reduce consumption of oil, which is necessary if we are to reduce global warming and wean ourselves from sucking at the nipple of terrorist sponsoring nations, such as Saudi Arabia. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency, American gas taxes in August were a mere 40 cents a gallon (on average), compared with $4.24 a gallon in Britain and $3.99 in Germany. Yet, the last time Congress raised the tax on gasoline was over 13 years ago, and not a single Republican voted for it. In addition, the burden of extra taxes would most certainly fall more heavily on those at the bottom of the economic ladder, since fuel costs make up a much larger percentage of those family's expenses.

How on earth will this country ever wean itself from oil, though, if we don't raise the taxes on gasoline?

Go to Mankiw's blog and express support for the Pigou Club:

The Pigou Club is an elite group of economists and pundits with the good sense to have publicly advocated higher Pigovian taxes, such as gasoline taxes or carbon taxes.

Maybe there's hope for Pigovian Taxes if the Republicans are jumping on board.

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