Archive for the 'Tax Breaks' Category

As Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi promised, the new Democratic House voted Thursday to reverse billions of dollars in subsidies to oil companies. This move was part of the “first 100 hours” agenda to kick off the 110th Congress in the House of Representatives. While the bill passed by a vote of 264-163, the bill has two major hurdles: a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate and possibly the veto pen of President Bush.

Obviously this kind of legislation has a huge impact for the alternative energy sector, so stay tuned for further legislative updates.

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

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This title is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, especially if you recently filled up your tank and are wondering what happened to all that cash that was in your wallet.

The price of gas these days has become painful, that’s not exactly breaking news. Unfortunately, here’s the really bad news: the price of oil and gas will only increase and we are on the express train to a global oil crisis.

1. Oil reserves are becoming harder and harder to find and gather.

2. China, India, and much of the developing world are growing their economies at impressive rates. With all this development, they want a piece of the good life pie that America and developed world have been enjoying. Â They want to have cars and use energy consuming appliances. The appetite of these countries for oil, especially China, is staggering. The fundamental economic law of supply and demand will only drive the price of oil higher.

3. Sadly, turmoil in the Middle East continues so oil supply disruptions are still a very real threat.

4. Hurricane forecasters are predicting another brutal hurricane season and storms are only getting stronger. After the one-two punch of Katrina and Rita last year, it’s clear that refineries along the Gulf Coast region and the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico are vulnerable to these monster storms. When refineries are damaged, it doesn’t much what the price of crude oil is when barrels of crude oil can’t be processed into gas.

Here’s the bottom line: if we continue with the status quo we are setting ourselves up for a disaster.

The only way to prevent a devastating oil crisis is to start using alternative energy and start driving more fuel-efficient cars. One way to get this done is through high gas prices. I’m not talking about waiting for market forces to double the price of gas, I’m talking about making gas prices artificially high through a heavy gas tax. Proceeds from this gas tax can be marked for developing the technology to help kick the oil habit and for offsetting any economic damage in the form of tax breaks based on income and the small business community. Expensive gas will also mean that alternative fuels and energy technology will become competitive.

Yes, a steep gas gas tax would be painful, but we can either have a considerable amount of pain now or a devastating amount of pain down the road. I’m definitely not the only person saying this right now. There is a growing chorus of experts that are much smarter than myself who believe high gas taxes are fundamental to a more promising future. America’s citizens and elected officials have a choice to make. History will judge all of us on how we handle this crucial problem.

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Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew