[Leica] Further adventures of a completely screwed up guy: longand occasionally on topic

[Frank.Dernie at btinternet.com (Frank Dernie)]

Seth,
I completely agree with your POV.
Frank

On 29 Jan, 2006, at 19:42, Seth Rosner wrote:

> Don, eighteen years ago (about the time of the October 1987 stock  
> market swoon) I wrote an op-ed piece arguing that if it had the  
> political will, the United States would impose a federal excise tax  
> on fuel that would put the price at the pump to world levels, i.e.  
> $4.-5./gallon. That it would have nothing but beneficial results:  
> 1. only the very rich would buy gas-guzzler vehicles, dramatically  
> reducing demand for the big users so that Detroit and others would  
> design and build the most fuel-efficient cars, buses, etc.; 2. it  
> would compel a prompt and serious search for alternative energy  
> technologies and sources (even in fossil fuels, the U.S. has  
> billions of gallons of oil locked up in the oil shale of the  
> Colorado Rockies); 3. within a relatively short time, it would wipe  
> out the national debt. Complaints about farmers and other car- 
> dependent people who could not afford $4. gasoline are dealt with  
> by coupons or credits. Even that bureaucratic problem is a tiny  
> "problem" compared to what we've got.
>
> Seth