From: whs70@dancer.uucp (22501-sohl)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
Subject: Re: H. Ross Perot's proposed gas tax
Date: 6 Oct 92 15:04:27 GMT
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ

In article <1992Oct6.141459.5447@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com> c23st@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com (Spiros Triantafyllopoulos) writes:
>In article <25996@oasys.dt.navy.mil> bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ronald Bense) writes:
>>When you really think about it, raising the gas tax by $.10 a year from
>>$.145 per gallon now to $.6145 in five years is not all bad. It will
>>cause pick-ups (my person most hated vehicle right after vans) and vans
>>to become more scarce, while cars won't really be affected that much.
>>Right now I pay ~$100 per month for gas, @$1.32, at $1.82, that would
>>be $138. Not that much, except I would prefer that it be placed against
>>the pricipal of the deficit, and not used for anything else. (IOW, a
>
>A couple of observations. Note that my affiliation has nothing to do with
>this, and I'm a fan of small cars. I also have first hand experience from
>the 'other side', where gas costs $3.50 a gallon.
>
>First off, the gas tax is regressive big time. It hits the lower classes
>and incomes a lot more than it does the so called middle class or
>upper class. Why do you think there's no sales tax (in most states) in
>things like food or medicines? Maybe $38 a month is nothing to you and
>me, but to someone barely scraping by it's real money. And *some*
>people would have one more cost to balance in the work vs. stay home
>and collect welfare equation.

That's certainly a valid point, but not an unreasonable one.  It
could lead to more people car pooling, work at home, etc.  If
the increase was phased in over several years, it wouldn't even be
that detrimental in a purely regressive sense either.  It could
lead to the purchase of more fule efficient cars by those that
would be impacted the most regressively.

>Second, there's no guarantee that the funds collected will be used for
>deficit reduction. Remember the $1.25 spent for $1 collected equation?

Agreed, I'd like a guarantee of some sort as part of any actual
tax package.

>Third, whether we like it or not, low priced gasoline has created a life
>style that would be upset quite a bit by a gas hike. Speaking from 
>personal experience, I commute 30 miles one way a day with a 35 mpg 
>vehicle, carpooling with my wife who also works here. We do this because
>we like the schools, health care, etc etc of where we LIVE. For us, 
>with a $100/month gas bill and two incomes, $200/month will still be
>ok. since the extra money's worth it. For our income levels we'll see
>more money spent and we won't drive less. For lower incomes, some may
>move closer to work, move elsewhere, etc in seek of work. Due to the
>availability and cost of transportation in the US it is feasible for even
>minimum wage earners to drive quite a bit to work.

Mayber it would lead to a revitalization of the inner cities.
More people would want to live nearer to where they work.

> Segmenting the work,
>shopping, and living areas (suburbia USA :-)) is due in big part to
>availability and cost of transportation in the US. Would any 
>government be willing to cope with the social implications of trying to
>reverse this? Forget the economic part. Just the social part. 

As above, if the 50 cent a gallon was phased over 5 years, I
don't think it would have that much impact on the societal
implications in any single year.

>In my reasoning above I have not included any arguments related to the
>auto industry (obviously :-)). For me, argument #3 is the most compelling.
>The government is in no position to 'social engineer' the reversal of the
>bedroom/work/mall separation. 

I don't see the tax as an effort to deliberately social engineer
the US lifestyle.  If that happens as a "side effect," so what.

Now I'd like to point out that I consider myself an auto enthusiast.
I have several British Sports cars, our daily driver is an Isuzu Trooper
and not one of my vehicles gets over 25mpg, so I think I can
be supportive of a 50 cent a gallon tax without anyone claiming
that it wouldn't have some distinct financial impact on my family.
I also commute a total of 44 miles a day to work and my wife's
commute is a round trip of about 38 miles.

Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
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