letter to the new york times in response to gas tax article

re: will it take a gas tax to go green?

like it or not, the american auto industry alone cannot be expected to provide a solution to america's love affair with oil. just note how many large pick-up trucks and suv ads you see advertised on television, compared to fuel-efficient vehicles, if one needs convincing.

government has the ability,(if it so chooses) to implement a change. as uncomfortable as no doubt unpopular, a painful to many gasoline tax makes tough sense, because it inevitably forces the change in consumer habits that is so badly needed. of course, consumers should not be expected to shoulder all the responsibility; after all, a government of the richest nation on earth that refuses to invest in public transportation is a sorry excuse for one that really does represent the needs of many, not just for now, but in the future. it's called planning; hardly the present administration's strongest card.

endless, broadsweeping rhetoric needs to replaced with a framework of policy and unpopular taxes. of course, such a prudent adoption of such a reality check will no doubt have an electorate, brainwashed into thinking of taxes as evil scourges, rushing to the polls to defend their present status quo. cutting taxes, no matter what the state of the economy is in, is hardly wise. in order for people to follow, a government must lead.

$2 a gallon and people are complaining?, about what! what do people think is going to happen? those that consider a gas tax so wrong and unjust, perhaps might also consider an analogy with the evolution of man. mammals (us), only ever had a real chance to evolve on earth once the age of the dinosaurs ended. i hear a lot of talk from the auto industry and government, but i see an awful lot of dinosaurs out there when i look out of my window or leave the apartment. and i live a few blocks from the whitehouse!