I don't think gas needs to get more expensive, I think that US public transportation needs to be improved. Trains are finally starting to run more commuters and lay more rail, but in certain cities, you get horrible public transportation. Take Indy for instance. When I was going to school at Butler, they had a train running from Broad Ripple, through Butler, and then downtown. Then, my sophomore year, they cut out five bus routes including that one. So, you'd either have to walk (or bike) at least 2 miles to a bus stop. Now, that's not going to hurt someone like me very much, just be a slight inconvenience. Who it's really going to hurt are the handicapped or elderly that cannot or should not be walking that far in rain and snow.

that's not including people in my situation now - I live in a small town, 10 miles away from school, 7 miles away from the nearest Wal Mart (which, incidentally, is just about the only store in town, except for two Krogers), and 30 miles away from a town with any retail whatsoever. There's no way that I could survive without a car comfortably, and I didn't go to 4 years of college and land one of the highest paying teaching jobs in the state to be uncomfortable.

Not to mention the people (salesmen come to mind immediately) who travel for business, or the businesses (and it's mostly all of them) who require trucking to move their products. At 8mpg highway, semis would really feel the hit with incredibly raise gas prices, and for the most part, they AREN'T subsidized, meaning that all that gas money comes out of the pockets of the truckers.

Unless you improve public transportation, you can't raise gas prices.


Besides, wasn't it Algore that said that he wants to artificially raise gas prices to $5 a gallon? Seems like he's going there.

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for decreased car usage - if I lived in a city, the only car I'd have would be my race car...