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Should governments leave car prices to market forces or…?

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Should governments leave car prices to market forces or…?

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IMHO, I think it’s a moot question because the objective is mostly unenforceable. There are already gas guzzler taxes in many states but this hasn’t dampened the popularity of larger vehicles nearly as much as rising gasoline prices has. Consumers purchase their autos with an express purpose in mind. If I buy an SUV because I have 5 kids to tote around, you’d have to slap a very large tax to get me to switch to a compact sedan. If I have to use a Nissan Titan to haul large equipment for my home business, setting a hefty price may force me out of business. The point is that a monetary penalty (tax or otherwise) that is designed to alter behavior will only work if: (1) There is a feasible alternative (2) The money raised by the tax goes to alleviate the harm caused by the behavior. Consider a proposition in the recent elections that our county should levy a 10 cent per gallon tax on gasoline in order to fund the local mass transit district. The idea would be to compel drivers to drive le

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