Tax write-off, not gas tax

In his column today, Geo-Greening by Example, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman called for a national gas tax that would elevate the price at the pump to $4 a gallon. While his intentions are good—make gasoline so pricey that people change their driving patterns, thus reducing our dependence on Mid-east oil, while simultaneously combating global warming—his method is misguided.

A gas tax is regressive, meaning that the less a person makes the more he is taxed relative to his income. A person making $200,000 a year that drives 200 miles a week will pay .69% of his income in gas per year, assuming he gets 30 miles to the gallon. A person that travels the same amount, but makes $30,000 a year, will pay 4.62% of her salary in gas.

The less fortunate cannot change their driving habits as quickly. Someone making $30,000 a year, for example, doesn't have the savings to buy a new hybrid vehicle within days of the new tax, unlike the person making $200,000.

Rather than punishing people, which Friedman's plan does, we need to incentivize them. And incentives start with tax cuts. In order to change the vehicle-purchasing habits of America, hybrid cars need to come fully-equipped with write-offs.