Fuel Taxes...

I was thinking about fuel taxes the other day while reading some articles online about the new Honda hybrids, next gen Priuses and other smart car type vehicles slated for the US market. A number of of the articles and discussions spun off of them brought up the point that because the government collects tax on gasoline, that the they have an incentive to keep gasoline consumption rates growing- maybe one of the reason the CAFE standards haven't increased (that and Bush is a numb-nuts).

I would think it would make a lot more sense to get rid of the gas tax and replace it with a tax on vehicle miles traveled. Now in some ways in my head this seems almost backward- we want people to switch to more efficient vehicles. But on the other hand walking or riding your bike or taking public transportation are all WAY better options than driving a Prius around all day long. So maybe there needs to be a mix.... tax on gasoline to further drive people to efficient vehicles, and a tax on mileage to help keep people out of the vehicles they've shelled all that money out for.... ummm yeah. All makes me think of this Onion article. Wonderful stuff.