Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Over-all, this sounds good. But I have a problem with a couple of things.

Number one. If it is the consumer who is being gouged at the pump, then the money should go to the gasoline consumer who has been gouged. Not taxpayers; who may or may not buy gasoline.

This should not be like a tax rafund. There are consumers of gasoline who live below the poverty line so far, that they are not taxed, but they still must use fuel.

This is apples and oranges. Get the money back oto the consumer, not the tax payer. We were not gouged by the government.

This would be a great way to encourage investment in mass transit systems, in and around urban areas of all sizes, but also to invest in a nationwide rail system of some kind. Obviously, the one kind that will be the most successful will be the one that is the most fuel efficient, as the fares will remain cheaper, no matter the wild fluctuations of the price of oil or other fossil fuels.

Also, can we change the word car to vehicle. Given a person's situaliton like; age, geographical location, income, etc. An actual car might not be the least expensive or fuel efficient choice for many Americans. We should also encourage the use of non-tradtional, individual modes of transportaion to be designed and used, that are more fuel efficient and contribute less to the degradation of our environment, if at all.

Americans will always need individual modes of transportation. It is a part of who we are, as a nation. It is also true of just about every other people on earth. Witness the number of bycycles in Amsterdam.

Henry Ford once believed that the motorcycle would be America's main mode of transportation. He may just be right, after all. Yet they may be motorcycles (and tricycles) of which he could not have conceived.

We could, as a nation, turn things around pretty damned fast if we only had the leadership to do it.

Unfortunately, we have two Oilmen and a bunch of rightwing eggheads running everything and they have only their agenda to think of, because that is all they seem to give a damn about.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich:

"WASHINGTON - April 28 - With gas prices continuing to be sky-high, and the big oil companies reaping historic profits, support has grown in the House of Representatives for legislation, authored by Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), to place an excessive profits tax on the big oil companies. Currently, 50 Members of Congress are co-sponsors of HR 2070, The Gas Price Spike Act.

'Consumers are being gouged at the pump, and more and more Members of Congress are realizing an excess profits tax is the best, fastest, and most prudent intervention to quickly drop the price of gasoline and restore the integrity of the market,' stated Congressman Kucinich. "