Sort of related. BTW, I agree with what he says about the NDP on this issue....
Let gas prices drive you in the right direction
JEFF GRAY
May 14, 2007
Gas now costs more (in some cases much more) than $1 a litre, as you may have heard. But the ritual complaints about gas prices - played out in television news and on talk radio - feel strangely out of step with the times, given the current preoccupation with climate change.
On the one hand, most people seem to accept that we need to tackle greenhouse-gas emissions. On the other, a jump in gas prices prompts hysteria and conspiracy theories about oil companies, just as it has for years.
If gas prices really were outrageously high, it is hard to believe there would be so many SUVs and big sedans, almost all with one occupant, still clogging the streets at rush hour.
Yes, spiking gas prices cause real economic hardship for some and, in the extreme, could scupper the economy for everyone else. But most gas-price whining is really just chitchat around the barbecue, accompanied by the "what-can-you-do" shrug that goes with that other universal conversation starter, the weather.
What's really strange is the political whining, especially from alleged environmentalists on the left. Take the complaints last week from Jack Layton's NDP about "gouging" by gas companies.
Citing a four-page brief released by economist Hugh Mackenzie of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a left-wing think tank, the NDP claims Canadians are mysteriously being forced to pay more than the "real" market price of gas.
Multiple investigations of the industry have found no evidence to suggest any collusion between oil companies on prices. Perhaps they missed something. But whatever the reason behind the price hikes, shouldn't real environmentalists actually be pushing for higher gas prices?
Making gas more costly is supposed to discourage people from buying gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs when all they need is a subcompact, or from driving to the video store when they could walk. TTC ridership grows when gas prices are high. Car pooling might start to look worth the bother for some.
Perhaps, over time, more of us might consider buying (smaller) homes in denser neighbourhoods easier to serve with public transit, a shift that appears to be already under way.
That's the argument behind a carbon tax: Create a disincentive for bad behaviour, make the good behaviour look more attractive, and nudge the market toward an environmental goal.
One interesting problem with gas-price hikes, which Mr. Mackenzie's report points out, is that governments actually don't get that much out of them, because gas taxes (except for GST) are charged at fixed rates per litre.
As the price rises, governments get a relatively smaller piece of the windfall to put back into public transit and other environmental initiatives.
Even with the current taxes, and the alleged gouging by oil companies, gas is a bargain here compared with Europe. That won't stop the populist gas-price rants, of course, what with summer's long weekends on the way. But the sheer weight of public concern about climate change may soon make all of that griping sound very dated.
If gas prices are getting you down, instead of complaining, how about just trying harder to use less of the stuff?
jgray@globeandmail.com
