Quote:
Originally Posted by vwW12
Great! Someone in Washington then gets to decree what the "standard" gasoline usage should be for every citizen! And it is decided that the "correct" ration card (for the little people) is 400 gallons/year. Would "important people" on "vital roles" somehow get "extra rations"? Any Russian over 35 would feel right at home as in the good old Soviet days!
Kids would now learn about Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of 400 gallons. 
Surely we need another great, efficiently run big gubm't program, just like the TSA jokers, the FEMA geniuses, or the CIA "weapons of mass destructions" sleuths? 'Cause the govm't is always right! |
Maybe if I extract some salient points from my wordy posts, you will get a clearer view of the picture:
- Nothing in my proposal is preventing anyone from buying thousands of gallons of fuel, if that is what they want. If you go over 400 gallons, you pay market price.
- $4.00 in tax is less than many European countries. The money would be used to repair our dilapidated infrastructure (perhaps you've read about the 72,000 bridges in the US that are dangerously deficient. Seventy-two thousand.) It would also be used to fund mass transit systems, which we are going to have to do sooner or later anyway.
Perhaps you never studied WWII. Gasoline was rationed to 3 gallons a week, and the national speed limit was 35 mph. Private use of vehicles was severely curtailed. This was not a big deal, because we still had mass transit that had been built prior to the auto age. And, we had an economy and a society that was based on local travel. To live somewhere that you could not get to work without a car was virtually unheard of. You either walked to work, or took public transit, or you had a horse. Yes, there were people still using horses and mules during WWII. My father's family was one. What is the point? The point is that the day OPEC decides to embargo us again, we will be LUCKY to get 3 gallons a week. Once critical needs like the military, agriculture, public transit and cargo are accommodated, loss of the oil we get from OPEC would be likely to leave LESS than 3 gallons of gasoline a week for the general population. If we don't have some kind of mass transit in place, our society and economy will come to a screeching halt. It is much harder to build this infrastructure without adequate supplies of oil. Trust me, if there is a choice between you driving to work or giving the fuel to someone building rail, you are not going to get the fuel.
Oil is a non-renewable, finite natural resource. Eventually, there WILL be restrictions on how much you can use. At one time in this country, there were no restrictions on hunting. You could go out into the woods, on your own private property, and kill whatever game you wanted. After the extinction and near extinction of several species formerly thought to be infinite in number, restrictions were placed on hunting. These restrictions were vehemently opposed, but for the common good, they were implemented.
Oil is facing extinction. The difference is that once it is gone, it is gone. There is no captive breeding program for oil. Our current virtually unlimited and unfettered use of oil will someday be looked upon with the same astonishment we now feel for the mass slaughter of the buffalo and passenger pigeon. Where was our forefather's restraint? Why didn't someone intervene?
Get ready. The intervention is coming.
Less Is More
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