Should Americans Consider A Fat Gas Tax?

The government can bite me. They already take enough of my money through taxes. Taxes will only get higher since we have to pay for all the illegal aliens services (hospital bills, school, jail housing, etc), and people who are too lazy to work.

Tell us what you really think. LOL

What's the word..oh yes

NEO-CON.

Wow bimmermike. You must be a very cruel 44 year old to say what you did. Has it ever occured to you that a 44 year old is supposed to show some more.... maturity?

CrunkieBrewster has a point. If taxpayer funds used to handle a lot of the illegal immigration issues were used for local education purposes, many schools would be able to keep their extracurricular activites and add as many teachers/educators as necessary.

The US was built on the acceptance of all immigrants. But it is a US citizens' responsibility to pay taxes on their income. There are certain freedoms of being an American, but there also responibilities that Americans must fulfill.

It is not fair to the average working/retired American that pays taxes that people can move in "rent free" so-to-speak. If I wanted to obtain citizenship in another country, I expect to follow their rules and pay taxes like their average citizen. I would hate to see the US take further actions to "close" it borders, but if an immigrant is "escaping" his native country to live tax-free in the US, that's unfair to the guy working at Wal-Mart, at the local bank, at McDonald's, at GM, at MorganStanley, etc.; they pay taxes on the wages they earn regardless of amount.

Another clueless American. It's pathetic. All the rights in the world and we still know nothing.

More American complaining about some of the lowest fuel prices in the world......stop and consider how good you actually have it!

Sure.

Yes, we should fat tax! If you are fat, you pay more tax, period! Fat people drive mo bigger SUVs, take two seats on the plan and train and movie theater. They put more burdens on the healthcare system. They should be tax more!

That's strong!!!! But I can see where you're comin from.

No more taxes, I pay enough.

Bimmermike, your post above shows your level and lack of intelligence. You should think twice before you make statements and judgments about people who you know nothing about. For starters, I am educated with a B.S. in computer science, and work for one of the largest and elite technology companies in the world. Back to taxes. The government (state and local) takes enough of the money I earn, and it goes to people who do not deserve it such as people who are here illegally. Who do you think pays for their trips to the hospital? Who pays for their kids to go to school? Well Mike, it's you and I. It would be different if they were here legally, but Mike they're not.

Maybe you should invest in a little education. So you can read articles such as this one ....

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55135

here is a snip from the article ....
"A new study by the Heritage Foundation's Robert Rector found a household headed by an individual without a high school education, including about two-thirds of illegal aliens, costs U.S. taxpayers more than $32,000 in federal, state and local benefits. That same family contributes an average of $9,000 a year in taxes, resulting in a net tax burden of $22,449 each year.

Over the course of the household's lifetime that tax burden translates to $1.1 million."

My advise to you Bimmermike is to take your 1991 3 series Bimmer, drive it to your nice job at your local starbucks. The keep you opinions to yourself, and just make my coffee when I come through your drive through.

My point is ... I pay enough taxes as it is, and the thought of paying a gas tax is out of the question.

Poli Science ... I guess your post back up the fact that you weren't smart enough to get a real degree. I bet it was nice studying with all the other losers who flunked out of the Business, Engineering, C.S., Education and Psyche departments and took their last hope of getting a degree and went with Poli Science. My next question is ... Which community college did your degree from? I'm sure you had the most sparkly bimmer in whole CC parking lot.

You think you pay too much tax?

Fuel here in the UK is 6-7 dollars per gallon, we pay tax at 44% on anything over 34000 pounds, 22% on anything under that, 17.5% on goods like cars, we pay stampt duty when we buy houses (3% on anything over 250000 pounds, 4% on anything over 500000 which thanks to high house prices is an awful lot of houses), we pay inheritance tax of 40% on anything over 300000 pounds, we also pay the VAT on the fuel tax, we pay capital gains tax on anything that goes up in value when we sell it over 2000 pounds of 10%, and car tax, company car tax and a load of other taxes.
And you think you pay too much, god an extra dollar on gas! I might have to use my car less and - HEAVEN FORBID - use PUBLIC TRANSPORT!!!
How will you cope?
Get some perspective, the US is so lenient with taxes.

You're an ignorant jerk if you think liberal arts degrees are easier to get than your advanced vocational training degrees. I've known quite a few with MBAs and Engineering grad school who can't construct a sentence to save their lives. If you viewed school as something more than a hurdle towards earning more, you might understand that.

With politics like yours, I'm not surprised you're arrogant about being ignorant.

1995,

I live in Detroit. I've worked with and know many engineers and business school graduates. The people I've known who can critically analyze, put things in perspective, speak/write English (among other languages), appreciate something more than kung fu films at the cinema and understand today's societal problems in a historical context aren't those who went to engineering or business schools.

But what do I know? I went to a small liberal arts college, as did my sister and mother. My dad has a liberal arts degree & a MA from public universities. Between us we have degrees in history, music, English, education, political science, library sciences and economics--all liberal arts. From your perspective, I'm sure that I come from a family of whacked out party animals. From mine, I come from a family of people who didn't think of college as a place to memorize & regurgitate facts in order to earn more money.

The bs boys studied? From my memory, they were the frat boys who weren't quite known for being studious.

1995e34,

Just where you plan on goin too with your high falutin engineering degree and mental boot camp? Engineers are a dime a dozen. Most engineers dwell in vacuum, lack common sense and have terrible people skills. But we need them, just like we also need other specialties and focuses that will allow us a country to utilize these "engineering marvels".

Crunkie,

Do you have to pay income taxes when living in one of those militia compounds. Are you from Waco?

I would totally welcome a gas tax, I think americans are way to wreckless with their gas consumption.
However: This tax must go into either alternative clean fuel research or improving highways or other beneficial things for the long run related to transportation.

Since this will never happen and the tax money will just go to illegal aliens and wars, i am against it.

Go to highways that only the wealthy would be able to drive on?

It would go to the highways that the gas tax payers would be driving on, wealthy or not.

Earmarked my ass.

What the hell does illegal immigration have to do with the gas tax?? C'mon, get a clue. It's so funny, we go to fight wars over oil and then complain about the price of oil being too high. It's high cuz we're overthere punkin some people out of their supplies!! We're concerned about the price of oil but how about the cost of a life lost over a silly barrel of oil.

Yes but it should be called a Highway Improvement Tax and all the extra revenue should benefit motorists only by using the revenue exclusively for highway construction and maintenance. Higher gas taxes will reduce demand and thereby help keep a lid on pump prices.

With respect to comments that claim monopolies can beat the supply and demand math, that would be true if there were a true monoply in the gasoline business. In practice, gas stations often compete for market share and monopoly-like behaviour at the macro level can only exist when supplies are extremely tight so that all suppliers act in unison to gouge consumers. My thesis is that by raising gas taxes (and hence the price) sufficiently to curb demand, the government would simply be using fiscal policy to steer macro behaviour in the right direction i.e. drive most consumers into lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. There would inevitably be an outcry from segments of industry that have a vested interest in the staus quo as well as from consumers who believe in taxing anyone but themselves.

I completley agree with you "TheSailor". People keep buying these huge behemoth SUV because they have not felt it enough in their fat wallets. We need to be encouraged to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Why can't people understand that when you buy a large gas guzzelling SUV or Truck you are supporting all of those middle east producing countries that produce oil. In addition you are helping the US oil companies bilk in more and more profits. It does work in Europe and there is no reason it could not work here. But I would be a bit creative. If the government is going get extra money in gas taxes then they should reduce by state and federal income taxes we are currently paying. I think that is fair. This allows people to pay less tax by choosing what vehicle they want to drive.

good point, buy smaller fuel efficient cars and as demand for these cars increases, the manufacturers will produce and sell more of these type of cars. Also will increase development of more fuel efficient cars, instead of stuffing big engines in cars and trying to compete with other manufacturers to see who has the mosts horse power.

mini22,

I also believe that in Europe they have a tax on engines over 2 liter. They could do the same in the US.

byshu - in the UK that used to be the system (it was tax on cars over 1.4 litres), but it was only like 100 quid, and the system is now based on CO2 emissions, from band A (under 100g/km) to band G (225g/km and over).
Band A is free, Band G is 300 pounds per year.
And in Richmond, a borough of London, your car parking permit is worked out by CO2 as well.

Oh and Sailor, people in the military here don't pay VAT (they claim it back at the end of the year).

Americans are so wasteful. I'm all for change as long as it doesn't affect me and my Surburban 2500, that my dog and I love to cruise around in.

I think it's at least good that the government is looking at ways to relieve gas prices. Continuing to let the oil industry have free reign on prices clearly is leading us into Hell.

However, do some of you honestly believe that this will make Americans buy fewer SUVs? Sales of SUVs aren't even slowing down at this point. I also just read that summer travel here is barely being affected by high gas prices, people are still going where they want to go.

It's psychological I think. If prices go up due to a tax, people suddenly think about they're vehicles as they notice how much they actually spend on petrol. I think a dollar a gallon more would make a huge difference to vehicle sales.
Pushing gas from 3 dollars/gallon to 4 dollars/gallon makes fuel for a year on a 10000 miles a year 20 mpg SUV 500 dollars more expensive, and doubling fuel prices from about 3 to 6 makes it 1500 dollars a year more expensive to own the same SUV.
For example, on a 25000 dollar Chevvy Trailblazer, which gets 16/22, spending 10% of the car's price on fuel every year (at 5 dollars/gallon) would make me think, and perhaps change to say an Impala, which gets 21/31, and ergo costs 500 dollars a year less to fuel at 5 dollars/gallon, or a Camry hybrid, which at 38 mpg saves 1200 dollars a year over a Trailblazer, and costs about the same to buy.

You sure about that? Check out all the 0% incentives and rebates running. The demand has lessened, so the manufacturers are throwing bones out to lure people in. Gas price drops and watch the incentives on your trucks and suvs blow away.

The government's job is to protect us--even when it's from our own stupidity. I used to think seat belt laws were stupid. Then, after enacted, I saw how many stupid people hadn't buckled up until it was law and how many lives were saved and serious injuries prevented--and $$$ saved. Just as parents need to make kids do what they should, sometimes, for the greater good, government needs to too.

Let's put the tax on as the price decreases this summer/fall, so that the actual price doesn't increase, and put that money where it needs to go: trains and buses.

Start taxing gas and our economy will go in a tailspin. Every consumer product will see an increase in price. A loaf of bread will now be more expensive because it costs more to deliver it, and this goes for all of our products. Don't forget a majority of our goods are delivered by truck. Construction projects will come to a hault or go way over budget. Think about your local school district, your taxes will increase just because it costs more to fuel the shcool buses that take your kids to school. Think about the affects on just plastic products that rely on petro. Core inflation will go out of control.

Whats the big deal about driving big SUV's? Who cares, if you can fill up the tank with gas, good for you. The US is a free market and we pay fair price for our oil. IF we start regulating our economy its going to become stagnant like the European economies. We will lose our edge as a world player. Taxing our gas is not the answer. There is plenty of oil in the world, we just have to lobby congress to build more refineries. Thats where all the problems lie.

I am 21 years old and a true believer in capitalism and free markets.

How would anywhere from 10 cents to a dollar of extra tax make any difference as far as curbing demand? All you are going to do is get the public even more aggravated. To make real strides with cutting demand you would be talking increases of several dollars.
This will NEVER happen in the United States, they will start drilling holes in Alaska before gas gets to 6.00 dollars a gallon. Americans tolerate a lot of stuff, one thing EVERY American can’t stand is high gas prices. This is the one issue that every American stand together on, no matter whether you’re democrat or a republican.

I will say again, the problem is not getting the oil, it is refining the oil. The fact that major oil companies have not built a refinery in 20 years shows where the real problem is. In a couple of weeks, gas prices will settle down again and gas will be a manageable price and we will go on like it never happened. If gas bothers you so much then go buy a Prius.

As far as the environment goes, do you expect the United States to go cold turkey on oil? Do you expect this to happen over night? Do you want everyone to drive a Prius by next week? Our addiction to oil is going to take generations to break. Yes, fossil fuels are eventually going to run out, but there is still plenty left, and the last time I went to a gas station there wasn’t exactly a hydrogen pump.

You are right Sailor I cannot see the point of a tax increase. There are no benifits, Gas prices will natuarally go up by themselves and as a result people will start buying smaller cars on their own. I know you are from Europe and you like the system. You like the system because its the only one you know.

I don't know when the last time you were in the states, but once our goods are "shipped here" too one of the major ports, they are put on semi-trucks. The massive trucks are the backbone of our economy, they keep our commerce moving. These trucks also take a barrell of oil, which is a hundred gallons of gas. You cannot tell me that if the govt were going to raise gas prices that goods would not cost more. Truck dirvers are not extactly charity workers.

95e34 - You seem to really think that extra money will go to education healthcare and all that great stuff. That money is going straight to Iraq.

whats the difference between me and you?

about five bank accounts, three ounces, and two vehicles.

I live in Columbus, OH and if half of the people here decided to park their cars and use the city's public transportation system to work, it would collapse in less than a week. There aren't enough buses to carry nearly 250,000 people. The city would be crippled because riders would be forced to wait for another bus b/c the one they waited an hour for was full.

Columbus is not considered a large city by any means, but it is a busy one. Cities such as Cleveland, Pittsburg, Chicago, Indy, etc. would be hurt if too many people use public transportation.

Your public transit system would likely grow as the demand for it grows. People can choose to walk or ride a bike too. Not everyone will choose the exact day to begin using public transit. I can tell you, in my home town, use of public transit/bike trails could increase by 300%+ and there would be no problem for the system to handle the increased useage. FYI, I currently ride my bike to work 100+ days per year, and have done so for several years. I consider myself part of the soulution.

Look-I'm still sticking to my point regarding the tax on gas. I think we should transfer at least some of the tax burden off state and federal income taxes and on to a "gas user tax". I'm not saying doing a complete switch. The point is simply that you give most consumers a choice. If you want to pay less gas tax usage then you can by a more fuel efficient vehicle. If you just have to have that Lamborgini then your gonna pay a lot more in gas user tax. The choice is yours. I do not agree with a mileage tax. The simple reason is that unlike Europe the US does not have the public transportation infrastructure,especially in the western states. In addition the distances between cities in a states like New Mexico and Arizona are huge.A bicycle is not going to work. I think this solution works. Everyone has the right to buy what vehicle they want and pay as much or as little gas user tax as they want. I'm talking about the consumer. I don't think this would apply to business or any kind of freight shipping in land(that would increase the cost of goods!).Also it would have to be fine tuned for the low income people and or poor.

You know, I read through all these comments and see the same thing: Stop buying SUV's and get small cars.
Problem: I already drive a small car... And raising gas like this will be devastating. I will not be able to afford to drive to work. And before you say 'use public transport' the system in my town sucks and goes nowhere near my work. Also, it's too far to bike. My only option is to drive.

Edit: Just missed mini22's comment. I agree on his, but say that small cars shouls not be affected by gas taxes.
Also, my user name has nothing to do with what I drive: I have a Geo.

Geez, people stay on topic!!!!

The gas tax works in England because there are viable alterantives to driving. England is the size of one American state. American is simply too large to ever get people out of cars. Cars are a reality in America. A tax would do nothing more than add financial hardship to the American people. There simply isn't a viable alternative for the majority of Americans. It may help in a few dense urban centers like NY and Chicago, but that's about it. Everywhere else, you simply have to drive.
If taxes are to increase, it should be based on MPG earned by vehicles. Americans can't choose not to drive, but they most certainly can choose what they drive. Add a much heftier and graduated gas guzzler tax so Americans have a huge economic disincentive to buy that guzzling Suburban instead of a 4 cylinder wagon. Take that tax money to subsidize auto manufacturer's development of more fuel efficient vehicles. That is the answer.

Taxes are higher is Liberal Los Angeles when compared to Conservative Orange County because of the amount bad roads, enviro wackos and crime per person.

LA is a mess!