SocraticGadfly: Friedman to Obama - pass gas tax hike

December 30, 2008

Friedman to Obama - pass gas tax hike

Thomas Friedman urges President-elect Obama not to pass up raising the gas tax, or even considering a carbon tax.

Friedman notes trucks + SUVs are expected to outsell cars this month with the gas price plunge, meaning such action is urgent. And, at the same time, it does not have to be economically crippling:
He could make it painless: offset the gas tax by lowering payroll taxes, or phase it in over two years at 10 cents a month. But if Obama, like Bush, wills the ends and not the means — wills a green economy without the price signals needed to change consumer behavior and drive innovation — he will fail.

Well, I will give Obama a preemptive "F," then, based on what he has shown so far in the post-Nov. 4 world, and wait to see if he can prove me wrong.

No comments: