Kinsley on Energy Taxes

Michael Kinsley wonders out loud in today's Post what ever happened to the idea of exerting market forces on the international oil industry to drive prices down. He remembers John Anderson's 50 cent gas tax idea from his 1980 Indy Presidential bid.

He thinks through the fact that gas prices have risen by $30 a barrel in recent years, and this applies to gas both foreign and domestic. However, he notes, it seems that the actual domestic costs of extraction have not increased this much. He declares this a "subsidy" and than wonders why, on this green earth, Congress and the Bush White House wants to give these people even more tax breaks and subsidies.

He argues that in the long run, implementing a heightened gas tax might be just what we need to do to shake up the Middle Eastern oil cartels, and over time actually reduce the at-the-pump cost of gasoline.