Originally Posted by
danarnold
Precisely! I have long advocated a substantial gasoline tax as the quickest way to achieve the result the anti-car bike advocates want. The problem is that it is political suicide to advocate for such, even if other taxes were reduced to compensate for it. American culture is a car culture. Americans are [irrationally] in love with their private automobiles and are highly resistant to change. Change is possible, but it will be slow.
Let me put the question out there. If gasoline taxes were raised substantially, so that gasoline cost $10 to $20 a gallon, what taxes (in an equal amount) would have to be reduced to get the American public to accept such a drastic change? Would a rebate of say, $1000 for a bicycle do it? I doubt it. But please, suggest something you think Americans would accept in exchange for a substantial hike in gasoline price.
Ah, the use of the term "anti-car...;" learning well from John F, eh.
How about a simple balancing of the scales... Driving has long been subsidized in this country, from the exploration of oil to the low fees attached to the storage of the auto on prime real estate, to the development of roads to even wars fought in "strategic locations." Our addiction to oil is well documented.
Balancing the scales to encourage alternate forms of transportation is not "anti-motoring," it is merely designing cities for people, vice cars.
Remember, ultimately the goal is to move people and goods, not just cars.