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Thursday, June 26, 2008
Make $4 gas permanent?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta economist Arnie Dill advocates more oil exploration. And he opposes hitting oil companies with higher taxes. But he also advocates more taxes on gasoline if prices drop below $4. Keeping prices at at least $4 a gallon will make sure we keep fighting our oil addiction, he writes.
“Since oil prices have a volatile history, they might drop in the future and tempt us to fall off the wagon again,” writes Dill. “Therefore, the government needs to set a $4 inflation-adjusted floor under gas prices by fully taxing any decline in market prices below that level. The gas tax proceeds would fund cuts in payroll and income taxes, especially for those with lower incomes, and beef up EPA policing of expanded energy production. “
What do you think of this idea? Can we trust ourselves with lower prices at the pump or would we just revert to our old fuel-hogging ways?
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