Why Cheap Gas Is a Bad Habit

Higher pump prices would help push Americans away from gas guzzlers.

Sept. 19, 2005 issue – What this country needs is $4-a-gallon gasoline or, maybe, $5. We don’t need it today, but we do need it over the next seven to 10 years via a steadily rising oil tax. Coupled with stricter fuel-economy standards, higher pump prices would push reluctant auto companies and American drivers away from today’s gas guzzlers. That should be our policy. The deafening silence you hear on this crucial subject from the White House, Congress and the media is a sorry indicator of national shortsightedness.
Katrina’s message is clear: we are vulnerable to any major cutoff of oil. This cutoff came from a natural disaster, but the larger menace is a political cutoff. Two thirds of the world’s proven oil reserves lie around the Persian Gulf; these countries, led by Saudi Arabia, now provide about a quarter of today’s oil supply. This flow could be interrupted at any time for many reasons