An Oct. 20 Bloomberg News guest editorial (“Another View: As the price of oil plummets, gas tax should be going up”) suggests that an increase in the federal gas tax is appropriate while gas prices are low. There are multiple problems with this idea.

First, gas taxes are regressive taxes that fall disproportionately on low- and middle-income earners, reducing their spending capacity at a time when national consumer demand continues to be too low to stimulate the economy.

Also, a gas tax can be absorbed when prices are low, but prices at the pump still exceed $3 a gallon almost everywhere and could rise again at any time.

There are other suggestions to boost infrastructure spending available that would provide more stable funding with less direct negative repercussions for the still-sluggish U.S. economy.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.