Oddly, the governor wants environmental reviews removed, more or less, to spur more road building while the legislature jacks up gas taxes. Watered down environmental review will now allow El Dorado county to more easily grab state money to fund a $41 million carpool lane expansion from the Sacramento county line to the Bass Lake road to help alleviate commuter and Red Hawk (kree-eh-ahhhhh) casino traffic. Beautiful. Let's build more lanes to encourage more gas usage.
In my view, a dollar in gas "fees" does not equate to a dollar removed from the California economy. Indeed, with a higher price, some people will be using less gasoline. It just won't be those in Elk Grove. No, it might be those on the economic margins in South Sacramento, but Elk Grovians will continue their gasoline usage because our city planning department mandated forced automobile usage with exclusive zoning and their intentional failure to integrate housing with an economy.
A gas fee will also marginally reduce the real price of gasoline as demand is slaked. More people will then choose higher efficiency. And because this greenest state in the nation also has the most vehicles and vehicles per capita, a gas fee would push oil exporting nations to subsidize our usage via a lowered real price.
A gas fee isn't a bad thing. It really isn't in my opinion. I certainly endorse it because:
- I don't use much -- let all of you pay it. And if you don't want to pay it, don't drive so damn much
- It's a perfect consumption tax
- Pushes the cost of road building more to those who actually use the roads
- It might actually encourage alt.energy development
- Keeps us farther removed from invading Nigeria in 2019 to promote "democracy"
- We have the teeny, tiny issue of our $14,867,228,938 state deficit.
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