If you look at the long term big picture your view should change. If you live in Europe you are well versed in gas taxes. When gas in the US is $2.50 a gallon, it is over $5.00 a gallon in over there and its not a so much a difference in what they pay for a barrel of oil. The difference is gas taxes. Now I don't believe that those kind of excessive gas taxes are remotely necessary, I do however believe a small gas tax is very viable and necessary.

This country uses 400 million gallons of gas a day. That's over 1.4 trillion gallons a year. Say we had a .50 cent a gallon gas tax increase, that would create $700 billion in additional tax revenue. If we took half that money, $3.5 billion, and say put it into our infrastructure, roads, bridges and such think about the jobs that would create. If we took the other half and used it for improving our public transportation system, same result. Give the money to the states to be used for those purposes. Some of the money could be used to further our alternative energy infrastructure as well.

Nothing is free, everything cost money. If want to have the best roads, the best and safest and if we want to catch up with many other western countries in the public transportation arena its going to cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere. With all the other problems facing this country, we cant continue to borrow the money we need to fix those problems from other countries, we have to generate it here. It may hurt a little for a while, but if handled properly, only for a while. If we can make the transition from the traditional forms of energy to renewables and do it right then we can get away from the out of control fluctuations of energy prices and the extreme threat to our economy and national security it poses.

All new vehicles within the next two years must flex fuel, built to run on both regular gasoline (E15) and E-85 (85% Ethanol, 15%gas), mandatory. Every year the minimum fuel economy standards should go up by 2 to 5 percent. A percentage of every vehicle built should be either all electric or plug-in hybrid, say 40 percent within the next 5 years. Its not as if the technology doesn't exist. It is also imperative that the Government offer good tax incentives for businesses and and individuals to purchase these autos, preferable those built in the US by Americans. This would include foreign manufactures building cars here in the US.

If a foreign manufacturer that is not building cars in this country wants to take advantage of the incentives, then they need to build plants here, hire American workers and build cars here. We also would support a increased import tax on non US build automobiles.

When it comes to domestic car manufacturers and foreign car manufactures the line has become very fuzzy. GM, Ford and Chrysler build a large percentage of their cars in foreign countries. If you look at any price sticker on any domestic vehicles it will tell you the percentage breakdown of domestic manufacture vs. foreign. You will be hard pressed to find one listed at 100% US. The same goes for foreign manufactures, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Honda all have manufacturing plants here in the US, to name a few. These cars built here should be included in the incentives since these companies have created good jobs here in the US.

It is true when someone says that we don't owe the "Big Three" anything. They have been slow to react and seem to operate with a fear for change. That must change and now. The fact is that the Automobile Industry is a large part of our economy and should be supported, but in a way the beneficial for all. We must create new jobs and protect those existing jobs especially during this fragile economic time.

So, if you agree and even if you don't, speak your mind. E-mail, call or send a letter to your representative in Congress and make your voice heard.