29 April 2008

Obama - right, Hillary (& McCain) - wrong

On the idea of a gasoline tax moratorium. Irrespective of the state of the American economy the government should be doing nothing, I repeat NOTHING, to encourage America's profligate energy consumption; both because we are approaching (if we have not passed) the point of peak oil and because of the country's extravagantly high greenhouse gas emissions. This is simply pandering to the electorate with no thought for policy or for the consequences. The price of petrol in America is still far below that of the rest of the developed world; in the case of the UK it is less than half! If anything the tax should be put on a schedule of aggressive, stepwise increases with the funds raised ring fenced equally for research into alternative energy sources and into public transportation. Of course being right is no way to win an election, especially in America!

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