The Free Market, price of gas, class warfare or socialism?

Im getting off topic. Steeper increases in the tax of gasoline is good for America, and it's good for the world. The first people to feel that burden will be the lower income brackets, obviously. But a smart evolution of our culture demands it. If nothing else, it'll encourage a grassroots interest in creating more affordabel alternate fuel vehicles. Hybrids arent cheap enough yet, but we're getting there.

And i am a Republican.

Couldn't that tax money be used to help these lower income families afford to purchase these hybrid cars? Then, maybe they wouldn't feel so much of the burden?

The only problem with that, GTripp, is that not all areas provide alternate forms of transportation. Would you be assuming that areas where people are close enough to work where they could walk or could take the bus should not have vehicles? Wouldn't this be in direct conflict with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?Well, the people who are dependant on gas to get to their jobs would still pay double for gas. They would have to. The trade off is they can be somewhat assured that it will be there at that fixed price down the road, because the others who have options not to drive are not using more fuel than they need.

With demand down universally, the value of gas would stop the exponential increase it is headed at.

A lot of people would feel like they are getting screwed. In the mean time though, we're all screwing ourselves.

Couldn't that tax money be used to help these lower income families afford to purchase these hybrid cars? Then, maybe they wouldn't feel so much of the burden?

What you say makes sense. But what is the likelihood of the government subsidizing independent transportation for the economically challenged? I don't think the chances are very good.

Well, the people who are dependant on gas to get to their jobs would still pay double for gas. They would have to. The trade off is they can be somewhat assured that it will be there at that fixed price down the road, because the others who have options not to drive are not using more fuel than they need.

With demand down universally, the value of gas would stop the exponential increase it is headed at.

A lot of people would feel like they are getting screwed. In the mean time though, we're all screwing ourselves.

If we sky rocket the price on something we are dependent on, it will cause a worse recession than the one we're heading toward. That is definitely NOT the answer. The law of supply and demand doesn't work in this case. What works is competition. The American people deserve to have choice of fuel for their vehicles. Competition will drive down price, dependency, and demand. It will also help to keep money in the American people's pockets, allowing them to contribute to the economy of the country. Which is good for everybody.

What your'e suggesting would only henge on the hope that the rate of living expense compensation would increase at a rate that would allow for such an increase. And believe you me, the fuel companies would never cap their prices at the end user PoP(point of purchase.) The moment the average income would "catch up" to the fuel costs, the gas companies would come up with some other excuse to raise the prices again.

What you say makes sense. But what is the likelihood of the government subsidizing independent transportation for the economically challenged? I don't think the chances are very good.

Not likely at all, you're correct!

If we sky rocket the price on something we are dependent on, it will cause a worse recession than the one we're heading toward. That is definitely NOT the answer. The law of supply and demand doesn't work in this case. What works is competition. The American people deserve to have choice of fuel for their vehicles. Competition will drive down price, dependency, and demand. It will also help to keep money in the American people's pockets, allowing them to contribute to the economy of the country. Which is good for everybody.

What your'e suggesting would only henge on the hope that the rate of living expense compensation would increase at a rate that would allow for such an increase. And believe you me, the fuel companies would never cap their prices at the end user PoP(point of purchase.) The moment the average income would "catch up" to the fuel costs, the gas companies would come up with some other excuse to raise the prices again.The main idea is to cut usage. Competition would go by the wayside for a while, as every company would sell gasoline at the price floor mandated by the government.

As long as nationwide usage stays down, the gas will be there for those who do rely on it.

Fixing gas prices at $6 per gallon would be a disaster. If the economy is in a recession now, it would be in a tailspin with gas prices at $6 per gallon. Our economy runs on gas and if you double the price overnight, you'll wreak havoc on companies, people's lives, etc.

We don't have wide spread options now because the government failed to subsidize alternative fuel sources the way it has gasoline. Ethanol is the way we seem to be leaning as an alternative source, but the environmental impacts are questionable. They want to open a plant on the Eastern Shore, but that area produces less than half the corn that is necessary to run the plant.

One thing to remember about gas, it's not just for your commuter cars. Does that go towards heating prices, which millions of people can't afford? What about all the companies that rely on tractor trailers and airplanes to do business. It would in turn make the prices of EVERYTHING skyrocket.

Exxon/Mobil makes roughly $.07 per gallon.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I don't believe that for a second. Who puts out that information, Exxon and Mobil right? I just don't buy it. I don't see how the same companies that are selling a product that is continually going up in price, but supposedly not screwing us, are the same companies that are just so well run that they post record profits year in and year out. I wasn't born yesterday.