On to the substance: in theory, I am not opposed to a federal-level gas tax increase as a means of encouraging conservation of petroleum resources; there are ways in which such a tax would be fair and produce the desired result. In practice, such a tax won’t work for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the revenues would end up in the Federal treasury where they would be squandered. In addition, any program administered by the current Feds would be subject to the politics of redistribution, such that the taxes collected, minus waste and maladministration expenses, would be used to subsidize the poor driving/conservation habits of enough of the population that the end result would be negative. Worse than squandered – - used to produce a bad result. See, e.g., corn ethanol; heating oil assistance.

So, Diane, honey . . . loved your act, but I’m not buying into your gas-tax schtick until you and your cohorts have cleaned up that act in Washington.

My favorite is feed the pig. feedthepig.org
It is a great organization but it totally goes against the government’s wishes that we all spend like there’s no tomorrow.
A perfect example of the government working at cross purposes with itself.