Quote:
Originally Posted by Pruzhany
You mean have added tax nearly every time gas prices dramatically dropped. Added them as a per gallon tax/fee instead of percentage plus states have added fees to registration for owners of hybrids and electrics.
It's not a want, its already been done and soon to do more.
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It's a product of the funding scheme.
Every State has their own funding scheme for highway construction and maintenance, but nearly all of them rely on an excise tax on gasoline for the bulk of the revenues.
Over time, as consumer habits, technology and life-style changes occur, the result can be declining revenues from the gasoline tax.
I have a preference toward user fees, and so never been fond of the gasoline tax.
A fairer tax scheme would be mileage fees.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
When you start spending more on storage than your profit margins allow, things go on sale. They have no place to store all the stuff.
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Oh, yes, they do...sort of.
Iran was storing Iran Heavy in tankers anchored everywhere for the longest time. The Saudis were using tank farms built by the US during Desert Shield/Storm.
The World's awash in heavy oils. Heavy oils generally sell $20-$40/barrel less than something like WTI or Brent Blend.
As an emerging- or developing-State transitioning into your 1st or 2nd Level Economy, heavy oils are useful, but once you move beyond that, not so much.
That's one reason why Alaskan crudes are exempted under the law, and allowed to be exported. They're all heavy oils, and high sulfur at that.
Remember those big thick black clunky plastic stuff in the 1960s and early 1970s?
That's from heavy oils. The polymers are such that if you try to add color compounds, the plastic becomes very brittle. Your intermediate and light grade oils have better polymers and resins which are easier to blend with color compounds (but expensive).
Quote:
Originally Posted by BentBow
What I find funny. As a money maker and big time revenue generator, a fuel tax was placed upon the fuel we use, to travel, manufacture and heat our homes with.
All the government push and manipulation in the last 40 years, to get us to decrease the use of gasoline and petroleum. Making things more and more efficient.
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You noticed that, too.
Yeah, it is a real stupid policy, but then that's government, so what'd you expect?
Your republic has really been harmed by the lack of a cogent fuels policy.
It wasn't really an issue until the Nixon Administration, but none of the Administrations have ever presented one, and that creates a lot of uncertainty, which creates drag on the economy.
From a political science standpoint, it doesn't really matter the policy is, so long as there is a coherent long-term policy with short and intermediate term goals.
From an economics standpoint, the wrong policy can cost you dearly.
Someone needs to make a choice, and stick with it: either go diesel, stay with gasoline, go to electric, go hybrid or switch to natural gas or hydrogen, but you cannot run around in 50 different directions. Maybe in the Future you can, but not now.
Scheming...
Mircea
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