Spokesman-Review Letters to the editor
Gas tax hike offers benefits
I was surprised by Christina L. Moxcey's Nov. 29 letter suggesting that a rise in the gas tax with a resulting decrease in gasoline consumption is "the last thing we need."
On the contrary, we would have the benefits of less dependence on foreign oil, less traffic congestion, increased viability of public transit, cleaner air (less pollution from exhaust), increased demand for local food (as opposed to shipping food long distances), and far more than enough revenue to offset any additional costs for lower-income families.
Meanwhile, everyone would still be free to "make choices for themselves" about what to drive.
Roy Johnson
Pullman
Anyone care to offer your opinion on this one?
2 comments:
I know this sounds bad, but to cut down on imported oil we need to use less. A higher gas tax would mean people would conserve more. After the gas shortages of the mid 70s everyone was going solar, wind power, etc., and as soon as the price of oil dropped we were back to the huge gas guzzling SUVs, huge RVs, and importing bunches of oil. I just hope they use the higher taxes wisely for mass transit and the roads.
You've got a point there Charles. I think people are starting to make changes though. During the recent reign of very high gas prices, local transit rider numbers in both Spokane and Kootenai County went through the roof. And so far the numbers show that a lot of those riders aren't going back to driving alone now that gas prices have dropped again. Let's hope those people actually made a real mode shift and will continue to conserve by using bikes, carpooling, transit, etc.
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