As Americans continue to push Congress to take some action… any action, to curb rising gasoline prices, Michael Bloomberg sends us a reminder today as to why they will not. The sad fact is, the majority of our elected officials believe higher gas prices are a good thing as Bloomberg demonstrates by stating we should actually be raising the gasoline tax to curb consumption.

Let the little people pay higher gas taxes.

That was the harsh message for beleaguered motorists delivered yesterday by Mayor Bloomberg.

“I think he [McCain] and Hillary Clinton couldn’t both have been more wrong when they wanted to reduce the gasoline tax during the summer,” said the mayor.

Then he added this advice, which is certain to make the average motorist cringe:

“They should be raising the tax and encouraging people to reduce consumption. The anti-tax people don’t like that. But using capitalism to encourage the right behavior is exactly the [right] direction of going. Tax policy is the way government uses capitalism.”

This is the argument used by Bloomberg when he raised the cigarette tax an additional $1 per pack recently, he stated correctly that the higher tax would reduce consumption. While this strategy makes sense for non essential items such as tobacco, is this really the type of policy we should institute with a commodity as essential as gasoline?

Bloomberg and like minded politicians have been looking at our oil consumption with blinders on, believing that higher fuel prices will only alter Americans driving habits, with no other unintended consequences. The truth however is that an increase in gasoline prices eventually lead to an increase in food prices as well, not to mention public transportation which for many Americans would be the alternative to driving. Inevitably it is the poor and lower middle class hit the hardest by these increases, while billionaires like Bloomberg continue their current lifestyles as if nothing has changed.

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Features, Taxes