One would not expect someone with a vested interest in selling cars to suggest a proposal that would cause people to drive less, but that's exactly what Mike Jackson is doing - again. This time around, the Autonation CEO wants to see an additional dollar tacked onto the price of each gallon of gasoline, as a means to shift consumer behavior and force a move towards vehicles with better fuel economy.
In an interesting twist, Jackson proposes that the amount collected from each consumer be returned on a yearly basis in the form of a rebate. In this way, the regressive effect of such a tax is said to be mitigated, but consumer behavior would still be altered. Upon first glance at the proposal, it would seem that giving an interest-free loan to a government entity would still cause more than a bit of pain for those at the lower end of the economic spectrum, especially considering that those consumers are often the least able to change their driving habits. Maybe we're missing something, though.
[Source: CNN/Money]
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