From the WSJ....
When gasoline prices shot over $4 a gallon this summer, Americans didn't wait for Washington to respond with an energy policy. They took action on their own by driving less and switching to more fuel-efficient cars.
The results are dramatic, but also problematic.
The good news is that gasoline consumption has fallen compared with a year earlier in every month from March through September of this year, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Vehicle miles traveled -- the wonky term for how much we drive -- have dropped for 11 straight months, and fell 4.4% in September, according to the Department of Transportation.
snip...
But the federal government is conflicted, too. Yes, policy makers want us to conserve oil. But now that we have, the funds that pay for roads, bridges, rail transit and other transportation infrastructure are falling right along with gasoline tax receipts.
The U.S. Department of Transportation last week said that gasoline taxes paid into the highway trust fund fell by $3 billion in the 2008 fiscal year.
So the bottom line. If we continue to drive too much, you'll get bitched at by LollaPelosi & Co. if you drive too little, you get the same.
Sounds like a future ex-wife.
2 comments:
This sounds familiar. Last year here in the SE US, we had a drought. Local governments pleaded with people to conserve, including $1000.00 fines for watering your lawn. So people conserved water, and the revenue generated by the nice green lawns put a hurt on the local governments.
Needless to say, they did not generate enough in fines to cover revenue lost by conservation.
Me, I let the lawn turn brown which means no mowing. So I saved gas and water money.
I'm going to need that money to pay my taxes.
I've got a better solution.
Instead of giving your money to the feds for them to give to me. Just buy me some beers, we'll at least get rid of the middle man.
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