Sausage Factory Brilliant Idea #1,037: Higher Gas Taxes

What was arguably one of the most demogogued domestic issues of the last few years? What have politicians railed, caterwauled, moaned, shrieked, lamented and bewailed over incessantly the last few hot political seasons? Yup. High. Gas. Prices.

Aren't gas prices high in large part due to enormous taxation levels and a patchwork of fuel standard regulations? Yup.

Isn't it widely speculated that high gas prices could be a factor in slowing or reducing consumer spending thereby causing the US economy to go into recession? Yup.

Wasn't the recent transportation bill, whose projects are funded by gas taxes, decried as the sine qua non of wasteful and corrupt government spending and surely partly responsible for Congress's all-time low approval ratings? Yup.

Despite all this, are politicians still planning to massively raise the taxes you pay on gas? YUP.

UPDATE: The Pigou Club is ecstatic because Big Business, who inhabit Incumbistan and only really fear the real capitalists of Small Business, is on board. For those new to the debate - why you should reject the membership in the Pigou Club is here.

UPPDATE: Maybe the correct policy response is to launch a Jeffesonian military offensive against the modern day Barbary pirates of MEND in Nigeria.