"What a great site! I'm impressed by the great stuff you've pulled together. It merely confirms my long-held belief that economics CAN be interesting....
All the best"-
Charlie Wheelan,
aka The Naked Economist
A higher gas tax would definitely make a dent in the amount of driving people do. The truth is, people are selfish and when something is convenient we tend to keep doing it. Most people believe global warming is happening, and we realize that high carbon emissions is damaging our planet, however it's hard to find enough motivation to change our habits when there aren't immediate consequences. A gas tax would change things because suddenly people wouldn't be able to afford to drive around at their leisure in gas consuming vehicles.
This is a perfect example of an externality. Polluting is artificially cheap because the environment picks up most of the cost. A tax on emissions or a higher gas tax would discourage unneccessary driving, and those who really needed big polluting trucks would have to pay for their actions. We complain when gas goes above $3, but most european countries have been paying more than that for years. Gas is in short supply and high demand. The price would be much higher if we didn't artificially keep it so low. We are messing with market forces and that is bad.
I agree that raising carbon taxes will lower the amount of people on the road, but i dont choose to drive 15 miles each way to school, although i could take the bus but thats not going to happen. I honestly wish i could drive a brand new hybrid to save one gas, but high gas prices are keeping me from saving some sort of money to get a car that get more that 12 miles to the gallon. i think im going to invest in a bike.
I enjoyed reading what the "Naked Economist" had to say, but I disagree on a few of his points. First off, his belief that people who are illegaly enetering the US have a right to come and go as they please as better the economy, may increase GDP, but it is wrong. Maybe its just me, but I beleive that like the rest of our ancestors looking for work in the US decades ago, the people enetering illegaly should be put through the same screening and tests that they had to, and that the people coming the to the US legaly now, are subject to. I understand that it may be helping the economy but it is putting the US in danger. Not only with terrorism being such a big problem in todays day, but also ive heard that diseases thought to be non existant in the US are making a comback due to the illegal immigrants entering the country without being screened. Yeah, this might help the medical care branch of the economy, but its not gonna be a fun way of improving the national economy. My second disagreement comes with his idea of increasing the price of gas with a tax (Like gas prices arent high enough as it is!). Yes it might help improve the environment and help with global warming and other the other fun stuff thats gonna eventually destroy the world, but i dont think that just raising gas prices will help that. I dont think that gas prices should be raised but that the government encourages the development of Hydrogen fuel. The use of non-emissions emitting cars is the only way that globally we can improve the environment. Increasing gas prices will just get people angry because people will pay the increased price of gas and still drive like they used to. Lets face it people dont like to change their daily routine.
Wheelan shows many interesting points in this article. Our liberal economy is one to be envied because it allows us to get ahead (through the unfortunate usage of sweat shop employment etc). However, some things need to be monitored in order for us to maintain a healthy advancement. And I also agree with the gas tax initiative; raising the price would ultimately ween us from our Iraqi oil dependence etc. and prevent pollution making us more productive. It is a big leap but a gradual change will be beneficial in the long run.
While I do agree that a gas tax would cut down on the amount of driving the average American does, I don't think higher prices would reach the desired level of emissions reductions. The main problem with the dependence on cars is not the convenience of driving, but the inconvenience of public transportation. Even if the price of goes does increase from a tax, there are still so many situations when driving is basically the only choice (unless you want to leave two hours earlier and bike or something). I agree that a government tax on gas is a profitable idea both for revenue and the environment, but I also think that more options for public transportation in places outside cities need to be considered. Hopefully, if the price of gas does rise, this will naturally happen.
A gas tax would deffinitly decrease the amount of driving in America. It would encourage car pooling and investment in alternate energy sources.But no politician would do that cause that would suck. It would be hard for people to agree on the tax cause no one wants to pay that much money for gas.
raising the gas tax would definitely decrease the amount of driving people do. raising the price would also make us less dependant on foreign oil and force us to create other methods of fueling our cars;preventing pollution and making us more productive. It is a big step but a sloew change will be beneficial over time.
8 comments:
A higher gas tax would definitely make a dent in the amount of driving people do. The truth is, people are selfish and when something is convenient we tend to keep doing it. Most people believe global warming is happening, and we realize that high carbon emissions is damaging our planet, however it's hard to find enough motivation to change our habits when there aren't immediate consequences. A gas tax would change things because suddenly people wouldn't be able to afford to drive around at their leisure in gas consuming vehicles.
This is a perfect example of an externality. Polluting is artificially cheap because the environment picks up most of the cost. A tax on emissions or a higher gas tax would discourage unneccessary driving, and those who really needed big polluting trucks would have to pay for their actions. We complain when gas goes above $3, but most european countries have been paying more than that for years. Gas is in short supply and high demand. The price would be much higher if we didn't artificially keep it so low. We are messing with market forces and that is bad.
I agree that raising carbon taxes will lower the amount of people on the road, but i dont choose to drive 15 miles each way to school, although i could take the bus but thats not going to happen. I honestly wish i could drive a brand new hybrid to save one gas, but high gas prices are keeping me from saving some sort of money to get a car that get more that 12 miles to the gallon. i think im going to invest in a bike.
I enjoyed reading what the "Naked Economist" had to say, but I disagree on a few of his points. First off, his belief that people who are illegaly enetering the US have a right to come and go as they please as better the economy, may increase GDP, but it is wrong. Maybe its just me, but I beleive that like the rest of our ancestors looking for work in the US decades ago, the people enetering illegaly should be put through the same screening and tests that they had to, and that the people coming the to the US legaly now, are subject to. I understand that it may be helping the economy but it is putting the US in danger. Not only with terrorism being such a big problem in todays day, but also ive heard that diseases thought to be non existant in the US are making a comback due to the illegal immigrants entering the country without being screened. Yeah, this might help the medical care branch of the economy, but its not gonna be a fun way of improving the national economy.
My second disagreement comes with his idea of increasing the price of gas with a tax (Like gas prices arent high enough as it is!). Yes it might help improve the environment and help with global warming and other the other fun stuff thats gonna eventually destroy the world, but i dont think that just raising gas prices will help that. I dont think that gas prices should be raised but that the government encourages the development of Hydrogen fuel. The use of non-emissions emitting cars is the only way that globally we can improve the environment. Increasing gas prices will just get people angry because people will pay the increased price of gas and still drive like they used to. Lets face it people dont like to change their daily routine.
Wheelan shows many interesting points in this article. Our liberal economy is one to be envied because it allows us to get ahead (through the unfortunate usage of sweat shop employment etc). However, some things need to be monitored in order for us to maintain a healthy advancement. And I also agree with the gas tax initiative; raising the price would ultimately ween us from our Iraqi oil dependence etc. and prevent pollution making us more productive. It is a big leap but a gradual change will be beneficial in the long run.
While I do agree that a gas tax would cut down on the amount of driving the average American does, I don't think higher prices would reach the desired level of emissions reductions. The main problem with the dependence on cars is not the convenience of driving, but the inconvenience of public transportation. Even if the price of goes does increase from a tax, there are still so many situations when driving is basically the only choice (unless you want to leave two hours earlier and bike or something). I agree that a government tax on gas is a profitable idea both for revenue and the environment, but I also think that more options for public transportation in places outside cities need to be considered. Hopefully, if the price of gas does rise, this will naturally happen.
A gas tax would deffinitly decrease the amount of driving in America. It would encourage car pooling and investment in alternate energy sources.But no politician would do that cause that would suck. It would be hard for people to agree on the tax cause no one wants to pay that much money for gas.
raising the gas tax would definitely decrease the amount of driving people do. raising the price would also make us less dependant on foreign oil and force us to create other methods of fueling our cars;preventing pollution and making us more productive. It is a big step but a sloew change will be beneficial over time.
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