A gallon of gas

Where on earth did Hillary Clinton and John McCain come up with the idea for a "gas tax vacation" to help alleviate the pain on consumers from steadily rising gas prices? The very idea proves just how short-sighted both candidates are, and I give Barack Obama big kudos for having the guts to oppose the idea. But being a contrarian, I'll go one step further. Not only should we not go on a gas tax vacation, we should raise the gas tax. I suggest we raise it at least one dollar.

Why raise gas taxes, you ask?

1) High gas prices are finally getting people to think twice about unnecessary trips, and that's already increasing the use of public transportation and cutting down on fuel consumption. And that helps in our fight against global warming.

2) Increased gas tax funds could be used to improve our public transportation systems and other programs in need of money. Many countries around the world already do this, why don't we?

3) The more we increase the gas tax, the less the Arabs and other oil producing countries will be able to charge us for crude. Though we may not have found it yet, there is a ceiling in how much consumers and businesses will pay for fuel, and gas prices will continue to quickly climb until that plateau is reached. The United States needs to get in the game now and take some of that profit margin before the chance is lost.

Do I need to go on?