A Question of Fuel Tax For President Obama

Los Angeles • 10 Mar 2009 12:37 • MobLog

Will the Obama administration consider a European style federal fuel tax to drive consumer demand for clean technologies and re-invigorate private investment into that same area? The stimulus and new budget money towards clean technology will help but it alone is not nearly enough. The consumer has to be motivated to buy clean products. Without the incentive, no amount of government money will be enough. Private investment is essential and without consumer demand, it will not happen. You can make a direct correlation between the price of fuel and the amount of private money invested in green tech. As the price of fuel plummeted from $4 to $2 in the past 9 months, so did the level of private investment in renewable energy. Fuel prices may naturally climb again as OPEC cuts back but that is simply more dollars going out of the country. With a fuel tax, consumption will drop keeping global oil prices down and provide much needed money to the govt. The cap and trade system will address the corporate sector but the consumer has to want to go green in order to draw in private investment dollars in green tech R&D. It will not be popular at first, but now is the time to implement a fuel tax. Obama has prepared the American public for dealing with hard times and belt tightening. They are more likely to accept this as a necessary measure now than any other time. A progressive tax that grows over a period of time would send the wake up call but not stymie growth at the same time. It would give people time to change but send the signal that change will have to happen soon. Clean tech is our single best bet for rebuilding our economy, restoring our political clout on the world stage, and leading the world into what will be the single largest growth industry of the 21st century. The administration must do more to make sure clean tech is not stifled by the recession but instead pulls us out of the recession and drives us into a new era of sustained growth.

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