Import Tax Will Help Energy Future
Posted on: Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 00:00 CDT
By STAN BLASZCZYK, Special to the Courier & Press
I am disheartened by both sides for the political posturing on oil prices. As Americans, what are we looking for? Specifically, what do we want the government to do? Do we want more pandering by both sides, or do we want a significant, courageous solution?
We might as well face it: There is very little the government can do short term, and if we are not careful, long term as well. There are and will continue to be economic disruptions based on oil. They have it; we don't. We can either pay the price and export our money or take it forcibly. Neither option is appealing. The only way to eventually succeed is to recognize the root cause.
Oil prices were coming down sharply until Iran began firing missiles the other day. Who supplied the oil money to pay for those missiles?
Giving the oil companies more "incentives" is just dumb. Maybe we should give tax breaks to the buggy industry.
Drilling in sensitive areas is an exercise in wishful thinking. New drilling in the U.S. will only make us feel as if we are doing something. OPEC will still be laughing all the way to the bank. And unfortunately, in the end it will produce only a drop in the bucket.
If someone is "addicted" to cocaine and the price is no longer affordable, is the answer to produce more cocaine?
The best way to reduce dependence on oil is to tax imports so that there is a floor to the price of gas and heating oil. It may be painful short term, but long term we need to change the game.
We are paying record prices for oil and paying to support a war to secure oil resources. How much is oil really costing us? This doesn't even account for the human sacrifice.
A price floor would not allow the Arabs to hold us hostage by temporarily reducing the price of oil and destroying investment in alternative energy competition. They have done it before and can do it again.
The import tax money could go to reducing the national debt.
Lower debt would strengthen the dollar and improve our international purchasing power, thus reducing the amount we pay for all other imports.
The money could go to support Social Security or Medicare. It could go reduce the Social Security payroll tax. The money could be rebated to individuals through a tax credit for everyone, somewhat similar to what is done in Alaska with that state's reverse income tax paid for by oil royalties.
There can be many ways to rebate the money. We need only the courage to do it.
Do you want to make gas cheaper now (with a gas tax holiday), or do you want to fix the problem once and for all? Let us get the job done now. Tell the Arabs what they can do with their oil.
I am sick of war. I don't want my sons or my grandsons to fight for oil. If we let free enterprise invest in alternative energy sources, the market will weed out what works and what doesn't work.
We will become the leader in alternative energy technology. When the oil runs out - and it will, 20, 30 or 50 years from now - we could have proven reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge worth many times what they are worth today and enjoy the most advanced energy technology in the world. Imagine what we could sell it for when oil is very scarce.
I know if oil goes down, some say our businesses will become less competitive. Perhaps we could form an organization of oil-consuming states to tax the oil and keep the retail price high without shipping money to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
If we do that, OPEC will not be able to pump more or less oil to control the price.
Do you want to solve the problem, or do you want to allow OPEC and Iran to strangle us forever?
Stan Blaszczyk is a resident of Evansville.
(c) 2008 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Evansville Courier & Press
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