basically we need to dramatically increase the tax on gas here in the united states. for a point of reference on just how low our tax is on gasoline, “taxes add $4 to the price of a gallon of gas in Europe and $3.25 in Japan, but only 40 cents or so in the United States.” before we all start complaining about how the cost has soared to over $3/gallon average, just look at how much foreign countries are paying and have been paying for quite some time. now relate this to fuel efficiency of automobiles in those countries and the poor performance we are doing here in the states. “Cars average 36 mpg in Europe and 31 mpg in Japan vs. only 21 mpg in the United States.”

the reason that those countries vehicles are so much more fuel efficient is because as common sense would tell you, higher taxes cause drivers to pay more for gas. having to pay more for gas will crimp demand and lead to lower wholesale prices.

“Lower wholesale prices, which would mean less profits for oil firms, combined with a higher tax could transfer money from Big Oil to the government, which could then use the cash for public programs. Consumers would have to pay the same amount – or even more than now – but at least that extra cash could be returned to them in some way… It might be used as a tax credit to offset the sting for those with a lower income, countering one of the most common arguments against such a tax. It could also go towards improvements in mass transit, expanded student loans or lower health insurance premiums.”

and this is definitely the direction we want to go. since we, the consumers, aren’t willing to conserve gas voluntarily by buying more fuel efficient cars (we’re obsessed too much over the “glitzier” features like “fancy cupholders”) the government should step in and play a larger controlling role in that. in other words, if you aren’t willing to conserve gasoline, then you’re going to pay for it in much higher fuel costs! the government should also place greater restrictions on the car manufacturers, which also includes upholding those restrictions which the government has had a problem of actually doing as of late.

“Raising taxes in the United States, say, ten cents a year until they reach $2, would stop people from driving their Hummers to get a quart of milk. For those who would be economically impacted, the extra money they pay in gas taxes could be returned to them as a tax rebate.

But any system so simple and so fair hasn’t got a prayer of becoming law in the current political climate, where politicians quake at the thought of asking voters to make sacrifices. And without incentives, consumers will continue to choose cupholders over good citizenship.”

something definitely needs to be done as it’s pretty obvious most people don’t care about anything but themselves (ignoring their social responsibility) and won’t take the initiative to seek more efficient modes of transportation. thankfully higher gas prices may force them to react, but i don’t think the prices are high enough to bring about a drastic change quite yet.

references: this and this

by the time we reached the western outskirts of atlanta, it was already dark being about 800p or so. people were driving faster at this point so i joined them once again back up to 80-85 (i enjoy flying through a city on the freeway!). after about another 45 minutes of driving and several highway changes, we had finally arrived to woodstock, georgia where lee lives… which is a suburb on the northern fringe of atlanta. midtown atlanta, where they usually go out at night, is about a thirty minute drive from their place on i-575 to i-75. upon arriving to their house, i unloaded all of my crap out of the rentral car and then lee and i took the car back to the airport, which worked out fine since lee’s jeep was at the airport (remember they flew to new orleans yesterday). by the time we had gotten back to the house, i was exhausted (i even passed out in the car ride back since lee was driving) and it was already after midnight.

so, no more driving for me for a while…at least long trips

so over the next week or so while also continuing my job search, i will be weighing the cost differences between my options for driving to atlanta. rent a uhaul and pay more for lack of efficient gas milage? rent a small suv (i won’t be taking much stuff) that’s better on gas milage and more comfortable for the 17 hour drive there (and a better radio to keep me going )?

anyway, here’s the route from la grange, tx to woodstock, ga i will be taking.