Dumb time to cut fuel taxes

If we are seeing the effects of peak oil, then it makes NO sense to cut taxes on fuel. Instead, we all should begin adapting to the post-oil world as soon as possible rather than pillaging the community coffers so those who have'em can drive their SUVs and V8s for a few more months or a year or two. The drop in the dollar will make it even more important to reduce fuel consumption.

Market lovers should be over the Moon about the recent glut of price signals to fuel users suggesting they should either reduce fuel consumption or be prepared to pay more for it. A lot more.

The taxes on fuel have been there since forever. They aren't new or recent. The money mostly goes to pay for worthy things most of us would prefer not to do without. Some if it even goes to build and maintain roads. Not we that will be need to do much more large sale road building.

Fuel taxes are also a tax no one has to pay directly if they structure their life right. So do it. The less fuel you use, the less tax you pay.

Makes sense to me.

Whenever oil was due to become scarce, we were always going to hear the howls of pain from the hedgehogs on the highway of life as their household budgets were squashed by forces they have chosen to ignore - in most case - all their lives. They could have pressured their elected representatives years ago to improve public transport. But they didn't.

OK...now maybe it's time to start.

It seems to be the time when demand exceeds supply. If you were paying attention, you knew it was coming, if not when. Did you prepare? It's not too late, though it soon will be if nothing is done.

Lets get those electric trains built as soon as possible. Let's get a good public transit system up and running in our major cities - and between them, with convenient, enclosed interchanges and reasonable fares that allow easy travel across - and between - our cities and towns.

Pay that tax money today and lobby government HARD (whoever it is) to ensure the infrastructure is there soon for the time when the oil isn't there in adequate quantities. The sooner we start, the easier and better it will be for everyone.

Let's not let short-term thinking yet again blight the future, as we have so often done before when the people who don't want to know and don't care impose their short-term ultimately futile thinking on everyone, including those who have been paying attention and trying to warn them what was coming. That would leave everyone down the track with no solutions where an "I told you so" doesn't help anyone.

It was and is possible to find opportunity amid the changes. Thirty years ago, the Danish government funded research into wind power generation. Now, the Danes lead the world in wind power technology. Why wasn't that New Zealand?

If we want to get off the oil teat as soon as possible, it might even make sense to increase fuel taxes so we can get the job of building public transport infrastructure done faster. When the going gets tough, the tough get going....and the whiners get a kick up the arse for having not paid attention (again).

Somehow we have to get past the "last tree" problem. What's that? Well, imagine you're on an island and the population grows to the point where the number of remaining trees for building houses and lighting fires and making canoes for fishing has fallen to the level where - unless consumption is reduced drastically - there will come a day where everyone will be fighting to cut down the LAST tree so they can live as they have always lived for just a few more days......and then it's all over.

"How could they be so stupid as to lets things get to that stage?"

Exactly. How could they.

They did it one day at a time. Just as we all are.