My friend Charles Helm, who teaches Political Science spends three months every year in Germany, so he knows what he is talking about. HE ANSWERED A GREAT QUESTION and here it is: C-Span posted the following question: Would you support and increase in the gas tax?: Yes indeed, if it is earmarked for transportation and alternate energy. If you want to see what life is like in a country with high gas taxes ( $8.25 a gallon in Germany, Netherlands, $9.02, US $4.02 -- US Energy Information Adminstration) travel in Germany (Actually this applies to much of Europe). Trains that whisk you along at several hundred miles an hour and dont rock and roll, Windmills and solar panels that have covered the landscape in the last several years. One day several weeks ago 75% of the energy used in Germany was alternate. High gas taxes also mean smaller, more gas efficient cars -- i.e., carbon reduction. I know, I know we cant do it: It would be a disaster for our fragile advanced economy. Of course per capita income in Germany is higher, unemployment and inequality are lower, and everyone has a months paid vacation. (In the catholic part of Germany they seem to have holidays once a week in May and June.) Of course the deeper explanation is: Well the US is different. What exactly does that mean?: Well you know different. It is always best when we try to understand these issues not to draw comparisons between comparable industrialized countries. As the old saying goes (Cinderella): I make words mean what I want them to mean, or alternatively, Everyone has a right to their own facts.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:52:49 +0000