As I was driving down I-5 and saw all sorts of SUVs cruising down the 5 with only one person inside at 80 MPH +, it occurred to me that there should be a tax that these people have to pay for unnecessarily increasing the demand for gas. I think a lot of people would claim that the market breeds efficiency, but that just isn't true. What it does breed is people who can afford to do so wasting resources, and making them more expensive for those who can't. So in addition to paying for the resource they are wasting, they should also have to pay for the increase in price due to the shock that their tastes and preferences causes to demand.
Of course I realize that this can't happen, but I can dream, can't I?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Maybe I am just saying this as someone who from time to time drives an SUV, but I would want a stronger linkage between demand and the price of gas ... It seems that there are other things affecting the price: China, OPEC .. that could be more to blame.
p.s. http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2008/11/bail_baby_bail_what_general_mo.php thoughts?
Post a Comment