Kyle Mcallister writes: >> price per gallon in the $3 to $5 range, at a >> minimum. > > This is the stupidest thing I have heard in a while. > Force the gas prices to be that high? How much do you > make a year? Have any idea how this will affect the > masses out there who make very little a year (while . . .
You are saying this tax would be regressive: it would hurt poor people more than rich people, because everyone has to drive roughly the same amount. I think this is true. A stiff tax on gasoline would hurt working poor people and the middle class. For that reason, I would recommend that the income tax for people making less than $50,000 per year be reduced by a large factor, enough to offset most of the new gas tax. Two-thirds of the money that comes in from the gasoline tax should be returned to people in the lower brackets. Also, much of the money should be made available as low interest loans to people who need to buy hybrid cars, house insulation, and other energy-saving technology. At present, taking into account Social Security tax, state and local taxes, the U.S. has a kind of flat rate tax system. It is kind of bowed in the middle. Poor people pay around 30%, middle class people around 25%, and rich people 30 to 35%. I would make it 20%, 30% and 40%. Proposals for a flat income tax, or a $5 gasoline tax with no other changes, would both tilt the system heavily against poor people, forcing them to pay a much higher percent of the income than rich people do. > Not to mention that most people cannot afford a Prius > in any case. They are not cheap. Don't they cost $20,000? That's more than my $9,000 Geo Metro, but it is not all that much. It is much cheaper than a $15,000 car over the life of the vehicle, when you factor in the cost of gas. Anyway, as I said, part of the $5 gas tax revenue should be used to make loans to poor people who need new, energy efficient cars. - Jed
