From my favorite Libertarian dressed as a Republican...
You may not agree with all of his ideas, but it's a hell of a lot better than what we have going for us now...
========================================

What Congress Can Do About Higher Gas Prices
by Ron Paul

Gasoline prices are soaring and the American people are angry. They want something done about it—now!

$100 rebate checks to American motorists won’t cut it, nor will mandatory mileage requirements for new vehicles. Taxing oil profits will only force prices higher. But there are some very important things we can do immediately to help.

First: We must reassess our foreign policy and announce some changes. One of the reasons we went into Iraq was to secure oil. Before the Iraq war oil was less than $30 per barrel; today it is over $70. The sooner we get out of Iraq and allow the Iraqis to solve their own problems the better. Since 2002 oil production in Iraq has dropped 50%. Pipeline sabotage and fires are routine; we have been unable to prevent them. Soaring gasoline prices are a giant unintended consequence of our invasion, pure and simple.

Second: We must end our obsession for a military confrontation with Iran. Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and according to our own CIA is nowhere near getting one. Yet the drumbeat grows louder for attacking certain sites in Iran, either by conventional or even nuclear means. An attack on Iran, coupled with our continued presence in Iraq, could hike gas prices to $5 or $6 per gallon here at home. By contrast, a sensible approach toward Iran could quickly lower oil prices by $20 per barrel.

Third: We must remember that prices of all things go up because of inflation. Inflation by definition is an increase in the money supply. The money supply is controlled by the Federal Reserve Bank, and responds to the deficits Congress creates. When deficits are excessive, as they are today, the Fed creates new dollars out of thin air to buy Treasury bills and keep interest rates artificially low. But when new money is created out of nothing, the money already in circulation loses value. Once this is recognized, prices rise – some more rapidly than others. That’s what we see today with the cost of energy.

Exploding deficits, due to runaway entitlement spending and the cost of overseas engagements, create pressure for the Fed to inflate the money supply. This contributes greatly to the higher prices we’re all paying at the pump.

If we want to do something about gas prices, Congress should greatly reduce federal spending, balance the budget, and eliminate regulations that interfere with the market development of alternative fuels. All subsidies and special benefits to energy companies should be ended. And in the meantime let’s eliminate federal gas taxes at the pump.

Oil prices are at a level where consumers reduce consumption voluntarily. The market will work if we let it. But as great as the market economy is, it cannot overcome a foreign policy that is destined to disrupt oil supplies and threaten the world with an expanded and dangerous conflict in the Middle East.

Here's an idea:

Americans use about 300 million gallons of gas per day.

Tack on a 50 cent gas tax the next time prices dip. It's really not that much.

This will generate $150 million/day, or about $55 Billion/year. Use half of the money to send out gas tax rebate checks (each taxpayer in the country could get a $125 refund check) , and put the other half into developing biofuels, renewable electricity (especially wind), and nuclear.

I know that even by relatively pessimistic estimates, we can build a 1 GWe, or 3.1 GWT nuclear plant for $25-$3 Billion, and it can generate enough energy to replace 55,000 bpd of oil production. That is to say, 16 nuclear plants could replace Alaska's North Slope. 18 could replace ANWR, assuming the oil companies are right that ANWR can produce 1 million bpd when it hits peak production.

Many people on these forums think that investing money in renewables is an even more economical bet, too. There aren't as many hard economic facts on a lot of the renewable technologies out there as there is on nuclear, so I'm not as familiar with them, but switchgrass and wind might even prove more economical.

I'm also still waiting for us to drop the speed limit to 55. We did it in the '70s, and it helped reduce consumption by 1-2%. That's not a whole lot, but with gasoline as inelastic as it is, it's enough to lower prices at the pump by 10 cents/gallon.

The government needs to work on ways to increase supply and reduce demand in order to get gas prices down. Most of the wise short-term solutions involve reducing demand.

You're right I don't agree with all his ideas. He's mostly right, but falls into the deliberate trap set by those in Congress and the Administration who created the debt for the very purpose of destroying the New Deal Entitlements! Along with looting the Treasury to enrich themselves and their rich buddies. He's GOT to get that straight!

Taxes are already about 60 cents a gallon, and it effects everyone especially the poor. People are not going to hear the old "Tax and spend" as they walk to work....

Tax the gas guzzler SUVs!

Another option:

If your car gets less than 15-20 mpg, you should be forced to purchase enough gasoline futures to drive your car for 50,000 miles.

That way, SUV drivers will be protected from their own idiocy for a while if gas prices go up. At the same time, it'll add about $7500 to the up-front cost of buying an SUV, so some people may switch to more fuel-efficient cars.