Let's impose a $1 tax on gallon of gas

I propose that the federal government impose a $1 per gallon tax on all gasoline sold for automobile usage.

Higher taxes are not something that garners support. However, these are extraordinary times and call for creative thinking -- not with a short-term reduction in the Federal gasoline tax as some have proposed but with a permanent solution based on substantial dollars to solve the problem.

I make this suggestion for several reasons.

The automobile is the first and only choice for transportation here which has led to our lack of quality public transportation alternatives.

Cheap gas has seduced the U.S. into the profligate use of this finite resource and reduced investments in alternative fuels, from hydrogen to diesel to electric.

At $1 per gallon, this federal tax would give us a way out of our short-term solutions thinking and drive a transformative process that all could benefit from.

These benefits include:

Jobs -- By having a multi-billion dollar plus reserve, we could create industries and business models for public and private transportation.

Infrastructure -- New highways, bridges, rail lines, airports and runways, mass transit systems could be designed and implemented.

New technologies -- From fuel cells to lightweight ion lithium batteries and even more gasoline-stingy combustion engines.

This $4-per-gallon gasoline is the start of a slide up to a cost seen in other countries. I urge us all to add to our solution rather than the coffers of the resource-rich providers of petroleum. If we do, we may reduce our reliance on it and at the very same time, create a U.S. where all can benefit.

All of this is possible for an additional $1.

R. Razz Jenkins

Des Plaines