Reader Response

Dear reader,
I know my absence has been long, but I will make a commitment to you that Stop Partisan will update at least weekly! I will also be making a few changes to this site, as to how, and what stories are talked about.

1. If their is a political story you would like to hear about, e-mail me at stop.partisan@gmail.com

2. I will also be accepting other peoples articles, and re-posting them in full (with their permission of course). Just e-mail me your article to the e-mail address above.

3. Have you gotten active in the political community? Have you participated in a political demonstration, written a senator, or are you even considering RUNNING FOR OFFICE? Just drop in a line and Stop Partisan will have a feature article each week about those of you who are getting involved with their political community.

A reader posts:

So you think that taxing something is bad, but yet we should take away buyers' option of owning an SUV because they drive up gas prices? So what do YOU think would fix the problem? Also, have you noticed gas prices going down for almost a month now?

Virginia Stephen

Dear reader,
I don't think that taxing something is bad. However, part of the reason our founding fathers penned the Declaration of independence was to end what we believed was unfair taxation (from the English), or "taxation without representation." Adding an additional tax on a new widget, especially one that people are still skeptical about can unintentionally/intentionally stop its progress dead in the water. Reagan understood this concept, and even I will give him credit for giving the tax breaks, and subsidies to leading technology companies that would have had stalled success without. What makes a hybrid vehicle attractive to the buyer, along with it being more environmentally friendly, is the potential to save money. Adding a tax that will take that incentive away makes it moot to buy a gas-conserving car.

As for falling gas prices, price ISN'T THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM. Simply lowering prices is like attacking the leaves and ignoring the trunk. What we are experiencing is a rise in consumption that will soon exceed the rate at which refined oil can be produced. With China expecting to double it's driving population (and believe me, it's no small number) within the next five years, if we don't start conserving our resources now, the U.S., as well as all other world oil markets will be in a real gas shortage. And if you think the difference between driving an SUV, and a more fuel efficient car (like say a Prius) makes little difference, just do the math. I would suspect that gas prices will jump back up again by this summer, and most likely will reach three dollars a gallon by the end of this year. And in-case you weren't paying attention, gas prices did not start to fall until a senate committee was charging U.S. fuel companies with price gouging. If I can find ONE element of Reaganomics that was functional, then certainly you can see that there was a definite correlation between falling prices, and a senate investigation. (Which has miraculously disappeared since gas prices have fallen.)

Finlay, I do not believe that a persons right to buy an SUV, or any vehicle for that matter, should be restricted. However, I do think that it is morally responsible to provide incentives to get people to conserve fuel. As for what I suggest should be done about this issue, just refer to my previous post, GAS CRISIS, and I lay out a detailed solution.

Cody Hobbs