The Glorious Gas Tax

Jessica Lussenhop's "The Glorious Gas Tax" (santacruz.com, August 12, 2009) should have beeen required reading for July 30, 2009 Metro Town Hall with Assemblyman Bill Monning.

After Rick Longinotti's presentation on Santa Cruz Metro bus funding, the remainder of the evening focused on tax reform. Keeley seemed to argue that the commission he heads to advise the governor would propose at least 3 features:

• state income tax would become more regressive then it is now
  
• state sales tax will be eliminated
  
• new "pollution tax" on gasoline tax would be added, to create a floor price in California of $3.50 per gallon regardless of market price

Ms. Lussenhop's article points out that a "pollution" tax would also be regressive because lower income people pay a disproprotionate percentage of income on transportation. She also provides a bit background on the ideas beyond this tax.

(The Green Curmudgeon wonders why this can't be a very progressive tax, beginning at zero for cyclists, bus riders, and walkers and rise rapidly based on green house emissions or fuel efficiency - still regressive, see why?

After all, if at checkout register stores can identify homeowner with 2 cats, surely the state can identify your carbon footprint at the gas pump.)

We hope Ms. Lussenhop will arm us for painful future town hall meetings to come.