Energy Redux

It has been over a month since I wrote here about transportation. Since then, gasoline has risen by almost a dollar a gallon. It seems a lot more needs to be said about transportation.

The government subsidizes automobile transportation to a remarkable extent. They also subsidize the airlines, but let's stick to surface transportation for now.

It isn't GM and it isn't Exxon that builds, maintains, and widens roads. It's our tax dollars. Now Congress has passed an energy bill that gives these companies, already obscenely profitable, especially the oil companies, subsidies out of my tax dollars and they express their thanks by raising my costs at the pump.

The time has come for the people to demand the automobile companies incorporate existing technology that will cause a fleetwide average of 40 mpg. This technology is in use in Europe. It needs to be utilized in America. We ought to refuse to buy any new cars that do not incorporate that technology. After all, there are plenty of great used cars out there that we could buy instead. We need to buy these used cars instead of rewarding the new car makers for their corporate irresponsibility in refusing to make their new vehicles more efficient.