Recently, at TED, the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference, Al Gore spoke about the challenges facing our world:
I guess it’s too late for him to break into the Democratic nomination now. The remaining Democratic runners have been rather quiet on the most important issue of our time. Hilary Clinton and Republican John McCain even want to suspend petrol tax (18 cents a gallon) for the summer. While that might be a temporary help to low-income drivers, the vast amount of money it would cost would be far better spent on fuel conservation, such as subsidising fuel-economic vehicles, and promoting car-pooling. Not to mention that gas taxes are ringfenced for maintaining road infrastructure, so the long-term cost to the public purse would be far greater than any short-term gain.
Oddly, the idea of a windfall tax on those oil producers enjoying a profit bonanza has not occurred to any of the Presidential nominees. Such a windfall tax could pay for a gas tax holiday, subsidised fuel, and more besides.