Research Tax

[Adam Y.]

And then you've got all sorts of political and economic issues. And it's a mess. And a 50 cents gas tax goes a long way to enraging the public and increasing the government's coffers, but isn't likely to do much good.

Yeah I agree. I never liked the whole gasoline as a "sin tax" thing. The only way you can entice people into doing the right thing is to give tax breaks. I remeber hearing (Im not sure if this is true) that gas taxes are a few dollars in Europe.

My point is that it isn't easy ... and paying more money won't necessarily equate to getting research "done" faster ... it takes time and patience and more time and more time still.

I agree. The one thing that is really annoying with fuel cells is getting the hydrogen in the first place!!! You really can't get it out of water since that is extremely inefficient. Ironically one solution Ive heard is to use gasoline to extract the hydrogen. Borax is another.

And then you've got all sorts of political and economic issues.

Ive heard a lot of good things about Denmark. Its actually on the way of becomming a totally green nation.

[sanddrag]

A $0.50 tax on gas around I live would be about 21.5% of the current cost of gas. Now, if with this tax, my truck magically got 25+% more MPG without losing any HP, I would be largely in favor of the tax. Otherwise, I am opposed.

[Astronouth7303]

Well, nothing happens "magically". But there will be a better world at the other end.

Anyone seen european gas prices?

[Lisa Perez]

What are European prices converted to US$/gallon though?

[David Kelly]

Great, all we need now are new taxes... I hate to say it but eventually we are going to be like Europe and 50-75% of my paycheck is going to be taken out for taxes. The money doesn't need to be going to the government. Thats why we have a free enterprise system. Alternative fuel sources and research should be done by a company or other means. Too much is waisted on government research because they don't really care about how much money is spent or how to get the best bang for your buck. Here is one example of what bp is doing.

[Adam Y.]

What are European prices converted to US$/gallon though?

Holly cow!!!!!!!!! The most expensive price is $6.00 a gallon.http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/internat...ces.html#Motor

[evulish]

Personally, I think the only SUVs that are going to be garaged by higher gas prices are the ones that are actually used for work, hauling, etc. I mean, the people that go out and spend $30-$80k on an SUV probably aren't going to be hurting by shelling out another $10 in gas every week. Also, if we add a $0.50 tax to gas to find something to replace it, OPEC will probably raise prices even more since they have a chance to lose their biggest customer. If I owned a company, and realized my biggest reseller was spending some of the profits to find something better than what I was providing, I wouldn't be very happy. And since people are currently dependant upon gasoline, they'll still HAVE to buy it. If gas prices jump dramatically, I don't think everyone is going to be able to run out and buy a hybrid car. My car probably has a trade-in value of $1,000 or so.. I don't think I can easily come up with the other $15,000 or so (nor do I really want to spend every cent I make on car payments).

There's enough gas to last quite some time so I'm not all to worried. We're making progress without a $0.50 gas tax, and I don't believe we're that low in crude oil. So I'm opposed to this.

[Adam Y.]

If I owned a company, and realized my biggest reseller was spending some of the profits to find something better than what I was providing, I wouldn't be very happy. And since people are currently dependant upon gasoline, they'll still HAVE to buy it. If gas prices jump dramatically, I don't think everyone is going to be able to run out and buy a hybrid car. My car probably has a trade-in value of $1,000 or so.. I don't think I can easily come up with the other $15,000 or so (nor do I really want to spend every cent I make on car payments).

The only problem is that they would end up hurting themselves also. That's why they are lowering prices this week.

[Pin Man]

Originally Posted by Adam Y.

Holly cow!!!!!!!!! The most expensive price is $6.00 a gallon.http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/internat...ces.html#Motor

Yeah? You want something really shocking?!?!

http://www.comcast.net/News/BUSINESS...a19a83ef3.html

[Adam Y.]

http://www.comcast.net/News/BUSINES...fa19a83ef3.html

Meh that doesnt surprise me in the least. The only really amazing thing in that article was that oil prices were that cheap when Saddam was in power.