The Approaching Fiscal Cliff: A Bike-friendly Solution

Gas taxes in the US are laughably low compared with more advanced countries. With the "Fiscal Cliff" looming, an increase in the Federal gas tax (18¢/gal) for the first time in twenty years seems iike a no-brainer.

We could add $5/gallon more tax and not really have anything to complain about compared with other First World countries....and generate $1 trillion annually, to erase much of the Federal deficit.

Such an increase could be phased in. But the end result would be (1) vastly more people living and working in a more compact area (cities and inner suburbs), (2) more support for transit and bicycling infrastructure, (3) far fewer cars on the roads driving fewer miles per year, (4) a huge reduction in the US's trade deficit and a strengthening of the dollar abroad, (5) a major reduction in the country's carbon footprint, and (6) beneficial environmental effects too numerous to list.

Why shouldn't we cyclists enthusiastically write our elected representatives sitting motionless in Washington, demanding such new taxes as a solution to the nation's problems?