Monday, May 05, 2008
Gas Tax
What do you think of the politicians latest bit of pandering? The suspension of the federal gas tax for the summer. Isn't that just stupid? You're going to end up saving under 7% (the fed's tax is around US$0.19 per gallon) - and if the gas keeps going up, even less. For the couple of months during the summer. And then come September, gas will pop up US$0.19 again out of the blue.
How about you tell folks to just drive 10% less. Or better yet, drop the national speed limit back down to 55 mph. Actually, if you really want to save 10% just drive slower - that's pretty easy. At least slow down a bit. I drive 11.4 miles to work and most of the traffic is whizzing by me, by quite a bit. I'm not driving slow, I'm actually at or just a tad above the posted limit. I watch the lights and try to manage my drive so I don't catch any reds. That means slowing down early and watching traffic as I go. The funny thing is I drive a little New Beetle getting around 28 mpg and most of the folks passing me are driving full size pickups, SUVs and large American cars.
Even if I did drive like an speeding idiot, I'd probably be getting double the mileage of many passing me on my way to work.
Labels: driving, government, gripes
