Daily Archives: Dec. 29, 2008

No time like present for gas-tax hike?

Dec. 29, 200812:44 p.m.

The cheaper gas gets, the more people are calling for an increase in the gas tax, to limit consumption, promote energy independence and fund the development of fuel-efficient vehicles and other energy alternatives. A New York Times editorial mentioned the possibilities of either a variable consumption tax (so the price would never go below $4 or $5 a gallon, say) or a variable tariff on imported oil, to signal to automakers and drivers “that the era of cheap gasoline is not going to last.” “Car Talk” co-host Ray Magliozzi recently called on “all nonwussy politicians” to stand with his proposal for a 50-cent gas-tax increase to fund infrastructure improvements and new energy technology. “The other thing that the gas-tax revenue could fund is high-speed train infrastructure between major cities,” he said. “And who would build all of the new high-tech, high-speed trains we’d need? GM and Ford! We’d help them start a mass-transit division, convert some of those factories from building inefficient gas hogs to building high-speed trains.” The timing certainly makes sense, with some saying that gas is headed below $1 a gallon. But finding “nonwussy politicians” will be a challenge.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Energy | Comments (117)

SEC didn’t do its job

Dec. 29, 20086:03 a.m.

Another report indicating that the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Bush administration didn’t do its job: SEC investigations that led to Justice Department prosecutions for securities fraud dropped from 69 in 2000 to just 9 in 2007, a decline of 87 percent, according to data compiled by a Syracuse University research group. The SEC also played an instrumental role in the credit crisis. In 2004, it eased long-standing regulations that limited the debt of big investment banks. The SEC also decided to rely on the investment firms’ computer models to determine the riskiness of those investments, and it spent little effort supervising the banks.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Economy, President Bush | Comments (27)

Open thread 12/29

Dec. 29, 20086:02 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (232)

Monitor war spending

Dec. 29, 20086:01 a.m.

President-elect Barack Obama’s administration needs to do much better at monitoring war spending than the Bush administration did, according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary, a defense think tank. The CSBA estimates that the price tag for the direct costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could grow as high as $1.7 trillion by 2018. It blames the ballooning costs on the Bush administration’s unprecedented decision to finance the wars through off-budget, emergency spending. “The process has reduced the ability of Congress to exercise effective oversight,” the report said. “It has also tended to obscure the long-term costs and budgetary consequences of ongoing military operations.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under President Obama, Presidential race | Comments (7)