Roadrunner taxes

John McCain is pandering when he tries to use repealing the federal gasoline tax as one solution to high gasoline prices. I know roadrunners are native to Arizona, but they've got to be taxed too. Maverick isn't alone, of course, Hillary Clinton tried to saddle the same horse during the primaries.

It's a use tax, plain and simple: 18.4 cents on diesel and 24.4 cents on gasoline. A small part of your gasoline bill that goes straight into the Highway Trust Fund. There have been wild-eyed proposals to raise it to European levels and force conservation, but we all know that's impossible politically in this country.

Higher prices mean less driving. According to MSNBC, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters "said in a statement Monday that the drop in driving miles demonstrates that the federal gas tax is no longer sufficient to finance the nation's transportation infrastructure."

Maybe everyone's forgotten that bridge in Minnesota already. In fact, the National Conference of State Legislatures just called for a tax increase.

A little rationality in the campaign, please.

Getting the lead out

I've been stewing about oil companies' greed for months, and it's got very little to do with gasoline prices *.

Where they can get away with it, they're still poisoning people with leaded gasoline. Okay, the United States still allows lead for specialized uses: planes **, boats and off-road vehicles, but I thought the world had dumped that poison decades ago. We've known about it since the 1920's.

Then I saw a throw-away line in a Philippine Inquirer story on another subject. 'That can't be true,” I thought. I was appalled by what came up after a little web-surfing.

Big oil happily trades lives for profits wherever and however it's allowed. The Australian LEAD Group tries to track countries that still allow lead additives, but there's a big difference between having restrictions and enforcing them.

According to an article in BusinessWorld (Philippines) "Figures from the World Wide Survey of Motor Gasoline Quality showed that the levels of lead added to fuel in third world countries were consistently twice as high as those added to the fuel in Western countries."

Since my search was in English, the Philippines popped up more than other countries. I, for one, suspect their experience applies to other places where big money meets weak governance.

Lives are cheap and gas is dear. Since leaded fuel is more efficient, it's hard to see any government stepping up enforcement at this time.

So I'm angry, and helpless.

* Their dirty little secret? Whether we've reached the 'tipping point' or not, they don't really want to increase production

** If you know any bat-shit crazy pilots, well, there you are.

*** One interesting item: because our gas comes from Singapore, Saipan stations were pumping lead into the 1980's.

Size matters, and random observations

I loved the Marianas Variety's survey of Marianas gas prices: Rota $5.30, Tinian $5.00, Saipan $4.80 and Guam $4.57 per gallon. The differences are about what you'd expect given the islands' size and other factors. For good measure, we get a peek at $6.00 gasoline in the Federated States of Micronesia.

So we're all getting 'hosed' equally. The closing paragraph was entertaining, though not very amusing:

"Robert Koppen of South Pacific Petroleum Company, which runs Circle K gas stations, declined to comment, saying oil companies don't normally discuss gas price issues."

Fish stories

An anonymous poster had a cow because of my ruminations about the Marianas Variety and Saipan Tribune perhaps, er, leaning one way or another on the proposed Marine Monument. Follow the links and see how they handle the same story. No comment here; I want to be fair and balanced. You decide. (Gee, I always wanted to write that. Does Fox have the copy write?)

Site sighting

This is just a quick jab at my pal Ed Stevens for writing "re-zero your sites" in his Friday column. Tch, coming from an experienced writer and self-proclaimed gun nut. I wouldn't even mention it, but he once mocked my affection for The Elements of Style.

Round three to the Governor

The House of Representatives may oppose Gov. Benigno R. Fitial's 'emergency' takeover of the Commonwealth Ports Authority, but it's been outfoxed. The Governor has extended the state of emergency and there's nothing they can do. He's forced the board to resign, but no replacements have been appointed.