"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
Still waiting for an answer, NOYB:

Do YOU have any bright ideas for getting lazy thinkers to reconsider the
types of cars they buy, or how they use those cars? Or, is everything just
fine the way it is?


I'd impose much stiffer gas guzzler taxes on vehicles before I'd tax
gasoline. If the vehicle is necessary for business, I'd make the gas
guzzler tax partially deductible/refundable so that businesses that need
trucks/vans/SUV's aren't squeezed as hard by it.

It must be realized that this would negatively impact truck/SUV sales, so
the government must offset the tax with huge tax rebates to those factories
which attain a certain production level of vehicles employing new
fuel-saving technology.






To put it another way, it's EXTREMELY likely that this country could, in
the
not-so-distant future, exercise some leverage with oil prices in the same
way I can exercise leverage with new car prices because there are at least
4
dealers for any brand of car in Rochester NY.

To put it another way, people in relationships will refuse to admit
they're
wrong about even the most trivial crap until they've been dragged through
194 hours of couples counseling. Analogy: At some point, people need to
give
up their attitude of "God gave every American the right to own whatever
vehicle we want, to drive it as much as we want, and maintain it as poorly
as we want, and you're a fascist/commie/whatever if you suggest
otherwise."

Do you think it's worth beginning the oil consumption counseling now, or
doesn't that give you as big a hard-on as seeing cities in flames? A real
man would get a HUGE woody from being able to tell a supplier to shove
their
product.

Taxing gas isn't the answer. A person who is driving a hybrid fuel car may
be doing so because they have a long commute to work and that's the only way
they can fit fuel expenses into their budget. By taxing the fuel, you may
make them exceed their budget, but leave them with no alternative. Taxing
the purchase of products which use a lot of fuel is a better answer.

It's cheaper to buy a two-stroke outboard motor than a four-stroke. If the
government wants to attack the fuel economy issue and some environmental
issues at the same time, then they should impose a stiff
gas-guzzler/polluting tax on the conventional two-strokes.

They can also offer huge incentives on the manufacturing side. Having
manufacturers make large changes in technology is very expensive. The
government needs to reward the companies which make those changes.