Really good story by Jason Stein this weekend regarding all the gas price pandering at the state level (by both parties). Nice to have someone look skeptically at the information they\’re fed – I think he used to be a business reporter, so he probably gets how market forces work. From the article:
But economists are panning most of these short-term solutions, saying there\’s not much a state like Wisconsin can do about gas prices besides promote long-term solutions such as alternative fuels. What\’s more, they said, taking steps to artificially lower fuel prices may actually send consumers the wrong message – that they can keep blithely guzzling gasoline without cutting back.
Exactly. (Disclaimer: I am biased pro-Stein, as he spent an hour interviewing me for this story.)
And in that vein, I dug up this column from UW-Superior Professor of Environmental and Cultural History Nicolaas Mink, in which he illustrates the long term benefits of higher gas prices. He says:
I hope gas prices climb higher.
While the $3-per-gallon threshold certainly makes many rethink (and perhaps even question) their suburban automotive escapades, gasoline selling at $4, $5 or $6 a gallon, as it does in Europe, would radically alter American habits, culture and society for the better.
This line of thinking was what I was trying to illustrate with this post. The Democratic Party as a political operation may be trying to squeeze some good publicity out of the gas price issue, but I believe honest liberal thinkers would support anything that causes cutbacks in consumption and more conservation. Even a good conservative thinker like Charles Krauthammer advocated for increasing gas taxes to keep the price artifically high. On this issue, I think the Democratic party apparatus is out of step with its base.
June 6, 2006 at 2:13 pm
If you are as tired of high gas prices as I am you will be very interested in these News reports from NBC and FOX news. They reveal how you can start saving 7%-19%. They also reveal how you can turn this into a very profitable venture. I have personally used the product with very good results..19.5% savings. To test the product I put it in my wife’s car an ’05 Cadillac SRX. She was not aware I put it in the car. I did it this way so that she would not subconsciously drive any differently and the final result 19.5% increase in milage. Quite astounding. I did the same with my Dad’s ’06 Ford F-150 and he got 15.3% increase. You really should check this out. save on fuel http://prosonline.biz/gas/charleshughessave on fuel
This is truly a winner.