Dingell wants $0.50 gas tax; who’ll primary this guy?
John Dingell Jr. wants to slap two more George Washington metal heads on each gallon of octane love you put in your tank. Not to reduce pay to GM execs like his wife $0.50 for each gas guzzler they make, but to charge you halfabuck more for le gasaroo. Less bling bling to ching ching in your wallet cos Ding Ding wants it that way. Well.
…Who can primary this person and get rid of him? cf. this comment at Michigan Liberal on the need for Dingy to disappear, and my own diary there from a few back about primarying General Motors Jr. out of office before he can damage the state and country any more.
And feel free to make suggestions to me, or others, about who could best primary him out of office.
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:21 am
Let’s not confuse two very different issues. Yes, we need to increase the income tax on the wealthy. That, however, will do nothing to reduce our reliance on gasoline.
Gas taxes, however, create an incentive to use less gasoline. And besides, I’d rather pay the 50 cents to my country now than wait for oil prices to go up and pay it to Saudi Arabia.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
With the bad economy, I’m not sure how many more “incentives” people need to buy less gas. I still think cars that…WASTE LESS GAS could be the best route here.
But thanks for your thoughts. Happy Purim/Easter/Eid Milad!!
April 10th, 2008 at 11:44 am
The idea of a gas tax at this point is deeply flawed, however. Yes…a gas tax would slow consumers use of gasoline. Unfortunately, there are not viable alternatives as this point and a gas tax, when the economy is suffering, is going to be extremely damaging to middle and lower income families.
Once the government provides subsidies to middle and lower income citizens to replace their old, used, gas only vehicles with hybrid, electric, hydrogen, or [insert other realistic alternative here] new vehicles…then promote a tax to ween consumption.
The real fight should not be waged with consumers, but rather with the companies who are stalling efforts to find alternative fuels, who do not want hybrid cars in the market, and who are making record profits while jabbing consumers with record high prices.
Dingell is way off on this one…this is bad policy in a state that is already suffering.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:42 am
There is NEVER a “good” time to raise taxes.
If we’re going to wait until this doesn’t “hurt” anyone, it will never happen. I say 50 cents is mild, but it’s a step in the right direction.