The Ne Green Revolution

Cnn has a slideshow featuring innovations in eletric cars and home building. $4 gas prices gave these progresses a chance. And gas prices should not be allowed to fall back, even if Saudis would rather they do.

China cut gasoline subsidies

On 6/19, oil price took a tumble for $5. The reason? China cut gasoline subsidies, following the example of other oil consumer countries. Imagine what will happen if all oil consumer countries unite to not only cut subsidies, but also hike taxes. The pain for businesses and commuters will be temporary, but the shift away from oil guzzling practices will last years and even be permanent as city infrastructures realign.

If you ever visit China, you'll probably land in Beijing or Shanghai. Both are booming metropolises w/ huge and inreasingly middle class population. Yet one look at their roads you will be able to tell the difference. Beijing streets are vast traffic jams filled with noxious fumes, while Shanghai roads are mostly populated with smooth-running clean buses and very few private cars. The reason? In Beijing, you can get a private car license for $10, while in Shanghai, it costs hundreds to thousands of dollars.

The Libertarian ideal says that the government is ideally small and little involved. Yet there are cases that government taxation make a critical difference in the pattern of market behavior, for better or for worse. Taxation on car licenses and gasoline is one of these.

Betting on Spain Updated...

My source from the Spanish island of Majorca tells me that as result of the trucker strike, there has begun widespread shortage of food from supermarket shelves.

Here's the gasoline price he gave me:
1.2 Euro/Gallon = $6.8/Liter


This is lower than gas prices in England, France and Germany. Yet Spain is the first to strike over gas tax. What does that mean?

State taxes on Gas

Seattle Times reports on gas taxes by states and local government.
Highlights below:

• State gas taxes average $.28/gallon. 10 cents more than the federal tax $.18/gallon, which McCain proposes to do away with
• Some states like Washington, levies a fixed dollar amount on gas per gallon; these states faces a revenue shortfall, as people cutting back on gas consumption
• Some states like California, levies a percentage on gas sales; these states get an unexpected windfall of gas revenue
• Some states are moving to reduce gas tax: Georgia
• Other states are moving to hike gas tax: Minnisota (of the collapsed bridge fame), Florida, North Carolina and West Virginia, Kentucky and Maine, Connecticut and Nebraska

The states hiking gas prices are getting the right idea. If they could band together, they would be a force to wreckon with. It's also important that they put the gas tax revenue to income tax rebates and uses that promotes public transportation alternatives and energy conservation, otherwise middle class and low income people will be disproportionally affected.

Betting on Spain

Spanish truckers are striking over high gas prices. I'm trying to find out how much the Spanish gas tax is. I'm willing to bet $100 that the Spanish tax is lower than the non-striking European countries England for example. My thesis is that the lower the gas tax, the more vulnerable the businesses are to the volatility of gasoline.

In fact, to be fair, I'd wager the Spain is in the lower range of major european countries in terms of gas tax: England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain (Maybe others? I don't know which other European economies are major). The $100 wager will go to a charity specified by the winner.
Thank you.

If this is what they do w/ our money...

If this is what they do w/ our oil money...then maybe it's not so bad at all. After artificial islands that mirrors continents of the world (and others), Dubai is building a wind-mill-skycraper that is energy positive. Very cool! It's long time that our own country does crazy-wonderful things like this, and instead we wasted our money on wars and pork.

Guest Contributors Email Me!

I'm looking for likeminded people to contribute posts to this blog. Your posts could be on any related subject, alternative energy, taxation legislation, energy impact on business etc. Please contact kick.you at gmail com. Thank you!