Bill Bradley Is Wrong On Gas Tax

Bill Bradley steals a page out of Thomas Friedman's playbook and touts a dollar gas tax.

A few hours later, former U.S. Sen. and onetime Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Bradley — whose nickname as a New York Knicks basketball star was “Dollar Bill” — told the Palm Beach Democratic Club that a $1-a-gallon tax on gasoline and a “big fee” on SUVs and other gas-guzzling vehicles would be good ways to encourage fuel-efficiency and combat global warming.

There are several reasons why this is a bad idea. Consumers are being hit with increasing high gas prices. Making motorists pay more will punish them. There is no proof that they will moderate there driving use. Increased gas prices have proven to make inflation worse.



Prices in the chart spiked from decreased Gulf Coast production due to Hurricane Katrina. Gas prices have since topped the 2005 high.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. average gasoline price set a record Monday, eclipsing highs seen following Hurricane Katrina. To have your say about the spiraling costs, click on the link below.
A number of analysts, including those at the Oil Price Information Service and A.G. Edwards, say a peak should come soon.

The U.S. average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.073 Monday, up a little less than a penny from Sunday, when the record was first broken, according to a daily survey from motor club AAA and OPIS. Prices are still below the all-time high when adjusted for inflation, $3.223 in today's dollars set March 1981, according to the Energy Department.

Wal-Mart is blaming gas prices increases on slow sales.

Technically, Wal-Mart's 3.5% April decline ranks as Wal-Mart's worst monthly showing in the 28 years it has reported such figures, handily outpacing the previous worst 0.6% decline in April 1996. In a broader context, the result was pulled down by scheduling quirks in addition to Wal-Mart's increasing difficulty in topping its own year-ago numbers.

In 2003, Wal-mart was 2.5 of America's GNP. The business titan can be hurt by increased gas prices. Bradley hasn't calculated how a dollar gas tax will affect smaller businesses and consumers.

Democrats should keep Bradley's proposal at arm's length. It is political suicide to support a gas tax. Barack Obama is pressing the automotive industry to make more fuel efficient cars. Senate Democrats have outlined a plan for cleaner renewable energy. That is a good place to start the dialogue.