Ken’s Take: Virtually all economists agree that the way to shift people to hybrids and other fuel efficient vehicles is to impose a large gas tax — say, $2 per gallon. That’s what the UK does now.
I’d agree with the economists, except that I know the Feds would just waste the money.
Predictabilty, most people — make that ‘almost all’ — think that hiking gas taxes is a very bad idea. In other words, it’s political suicide.
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According to Rasmussen:
Only 22% of Americans are willing to spend more to buy an energy-efficient hybrid car to help the environment. Even last October, after record high prices at the pump, just 37% said they were more likely to buy a hybrid car than they were a year earlier.
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Given last year’s record-high gasoline prices and the still-fluctuating price at the pump, most Americans aren’t interested in the government tacking on any more, even in the name of fuel efficiency.
Just 10% of adults think the federal government should increase the tax on gasoline by a large amount as a way of encouraging people to buy more fuel-efficient cars … 81% oppose a large tax hike for that purpose, and 8% don’t know.
Americans also took a dim view of another car-focused tax when it was proposed earlier this year. Seventy-three percent (73%) rejected the idea of taxing drivers based on how many miles they drive to help fund the building and repair of roads and bridges. Only 18% supported a mileage tax.
In April of last year, 60% of Americans favored suspending the federal gas tax completely for the summer to offset soaring gas prices.
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