I initially wrote this post back in early June, but for some reason have been reluctant to post it. This morning, after reviewing the drafts of several aborted posts, this one has been granted a reprieve:

The average price of a gallon of gas is now above $3. That’s affecting some car buyers’ choices, as it has done whenever gas prices have spiked in the past two years. But it’s still not high enough to spur the needed transformation of the U.S. auto fleet to much higher average fuel economy.

If you don’t feel like reading the article (from MSN.com), the premise is that the United States needs a gasoline tax to push prices above the $4 per gallon threshold in order to generate a greater demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and thus push automobile makers to produce more efficient cars for the U.S. market.

Though I am far from an economist, I’ve been thinking about this issue for quite some time and think that the author makes a great deal of sense. It would initially be an extra financial burden for anyone who commutes, and political suicide for whoever proposes the legislation, but in my opinion, the potential to reduce our national dependence on foreign oil as well as the benefit to the environment seem to make a great deal of sense.

Of course, the obvious libertarian argument is that we have the right to drive whatever car we want, regardless of fuel economy and that it should be the market that decides the price of gasoline. I can respect this opinion but it is my belief that nothing will change until us consumers stop purchasing cars bigger than what we actually need. It may happen on its own, but I’m not holding my breath.