A while back I pointed to this NYT piece that suggested that, except for the likes of dopey W, almost everybody is on board with hiking the gas tax. Now WaPo uses the same narrative:
raising taxes on gasoline or crude oil. Economists and policy experts across the political spectrum think it’s a good idea. And with gasoline prices falling, now might be the perfect time to do it without eliciting cries of pain from U.S. drivers who have become somewhat accustomed to high fuel prices. But on the long road to a new energy policy, the idea of a higher gasoline or crude-oil tax is just another bit of roadkill.
And if the NYT‘s parade of smarties wasn’t enough for you, here’s another one for the list:
Kenneth S. Rogoff, a Harvard economics professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. “A sharp hike in energy taxes on gasoline and other fossil fuels would not only help improve the government’s balance sheet, but it would also be a way to start addressing global warming.”
Even the Wall Street Journal gets in on the act by publishing a piece by former Bush economist Greg Mankiw:
With the midterm election around the corner, here’s a wacky idea you won’t often hear from our elected leaders: We should raise the tax on gasoline.
Piece reprinted here. Some of my arguments against the hike here.