Yes to higher gas taxes and their benefits

MSN has a simple argument for how higher gas taxes could actually benefit the economy.

There’s only one fly in this ointment, but it’s a huge one. Author Vad Yazvinski agrees with Greg Mankiw that we ought to use the proceeds from a $1/gallon increase in the gas tax to cut corporate taxes.

WRONG!

Instead, the estimated $100 billion could be spent on mass transit development and urban neighborhood/traditional neighborhood design development.

But, the federal government should only support the latter in cities whose state governments have TND-friendly legislation.

Not all that $100 bil would go to these two areas, though.

Part of it would go to a voucher fund to help buy gas burners — and oil burners — off of poor people for more efficient cars of today. Texas has such a program at the state level.

Part of it would be used to fund aspects of the well-needed “Manhattan Project” to get us beyond the Age of Oil.

But, Yzvinski is wrong about how to use it, let alone wrong that the corporate income tax rate is not “ridiculously high,” as he claims.