$8-9/gallon Gas On its Way?

[Gavin Allan]

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: Barack Obama's pick for Department of Energy secretary backs higher gasoline taxes, a position which puts him at odds with the president-elect.



"Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," Steven Chu, the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, told the Wall Street Journal in September.



Chu said he favors gradually ramping up gasoline taxes over 15 years to nudge consumers into buying cars that are more fuel efficient and homes which are closer to work. Chu spoke with The Wall Street Journal in September but the newspaper did not publish the gas tax comments until last seek, shortly after the Nobel-prize winning physicist had been identified as Obama's nominee for Energy secretary.



Chu is not alone among energy experts in thinking that higher gasoline taxes could tamp down demand and spur development in alternative energies.



Raising the federal gasoline tax, however, has been dismissed by Obama.



The president-elect acknowledges that gas prices have come down since the summer when they reached $4 per gallon. He worries, however, that the overall economic downturn makes American families ill-equipped to shoulder higher prices.



Putting additional burdens on American families right now, I think, is a mistake, Obama told NBCs Meet the Press in an interview which aired on Dec. 7.



Lee Schipper, a project scientist with the Global Metropolitan Studies program at U.C. Berkeley, hailed Obamas nomination of Chu as Energy Secretary and praised his colleagues support for higher gasoline taxes.



I can imagine in the hearings Chu facing problems because he dares say, higher prices, said Schipper. But I think there is no solution that does not involve higher prices.



Schipper, who shared a lab at Berkeley with Chu from 1972-74, estimates that the average cost of gasoline in Europe at present is somewhere between $7-9 per gallon.



Schipper thinks Obamas concerns about not placing additional burdens on Americas families can be addressed by agreeing to rebate all -- or close to all -- of the money raised by higher fuel taxes.



The answer is: raise the price of gasoline and give all the money back, said Schipper.

 

[Tom Schindler]

OMG!!! Run for cover! God help America!



This article is breaking news. It is 2 years old. This must have hit Fox News this morning.





Tom

 

[Les]

This must have hit Fox News this morning.

geez...

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports:

 

[TomT]

Old news but don't be surprised if your paying $4 a gallon this summer.

 

[EddieS'04]

I expect to see $3.25 to $3.50 regular in the Houston area. Looks like I will have to run my 87 or 89 performance tunes.



fftopic:



Running my 87 performance tune now. Using up the gas I had stored for my generator. During the huricane season. I keep 6 gallons in the generator year round with sta-bil. I start and run it once a month. We do have 1 or 2 power outages a year that last a couple of hours. I would like to replace my 6500watt with a 8000watt gen. That way I could use my central HVAC.

:back2topic:

 

[Jerry Gerner 2]

Eddie we've been paying that much for awhile now. :angry::fire:

 

[Andy Chase]

Over $160 to fill up the Trac Heck NO! If this ever happens, I think I'd be riding a horse and buggy instead. Unless I find a new job that I can just burn through money like there was no tomorrow.

 

[Kevin Lang]

I'm a bit confused about the article too, as it refers to a "president-elect", and Obama hasn't been that for (thankfully) ~2 years.



*(Meaning that we're that much closer to outing him)

 

[Jerry Gerner 2]

Not gonna get into a polictical battle but if I recall correctly I remember paying way more for gas prices when Bush was in office. Like I said not getting political but think before you type. Two things you can't and won't ever win in an arguement, politics and religion, because people are set in their ways and beliefs. :haveabeer:

 

[Les]

I'm a bit confused about the article too, as it refers to a "president-elect", and Obama hasn't been that for (thankfully) ~2 years.

Obama Energy Pick Backs Higher Gas Tax

December 15, 2008 4:54 PM

 

[Tom Schindler]

Not gonna get into a polictical battle but if I recall correctly I remember paying way more for gas prices when Bush was in office. Like I said not getting political but think before you type.

We already said that that was caused by speculators and Bush was totaly against those high gas prices. He had absolutly NOTHING to do with the gas prices, though the prices went down as he was leaving office....:angry:



Jerry, you are 100% correct though. We want to blame Obama for something that hasn't happened yet, but think it is wrong to blame Bush for what was happening the whole time he was in office.:sad:





Tom

 

[scott degroot]

$4 a gallon come summer time is going to be a reality and IMO higher fuel prices are a must.

 

[Les]

We want to blame Obama for something that hasn't happened yet,

If Obama doesn't allow off-shore drilling to resume, he will be contributing to the problem...

 

[Kevin Lang]

SO...why are we dredging up 3 year old news? And yeah, I mistyped, I still haven't adapted to the 2011 yet in my mind.



Is the article being used to say that Obama's anti-oil policies are part of some master plan to kill us at the pump and make us dependent on non-existent public transit?



Damn commodities market.



When is Brazil, the Hippie Nation, going to stop "making love on the beach" (as one of the govt officials repeatedly said on 60 minutes) and get their government-run oil company to start drilling and refining? If they're not going after the 21st century "Comstock Lode", America can, right?