Is Demonization the Only Answer?

On Sixty Minutes the articles on SUV's was just more of the same rhetoric the left is so good at. Was there a single voice asking if the Federal government has the authority to regulate gas mileage? Was there any discussion of the fact that even the best performing cars get 0 miles per gallon while they sit in traffic jams or at backups due to toll facilities? In order to explain the increasing oil requirements of the US, do they look to the increasing distances Americans are commuting? Of course, that would just cloud the demonization efforts of the Left to denigrate individuals exercising freedom of choice. People are choosing to live farther away from their jobs in order to satisfy other needs: bigger or cheaper house, better schools, safer streets, lower taxes.

Rather than use the government as a tool to limit the choice of automobile I can drive, why not attempt to achieve the same goals by increasing my freedoms. Eliminating toll booths would increase the gas mileage of every car which has to endure these abominations. I'm more than willing to see the gas tax increase in order to make up for the difference in revenue so as to make my proposal revenue neutral. But it's better than revenue neutral, not paying for toll booth attendants or maintenance is a positive revenue flow.

Increase the number of traffic circles and decrease the number of stop lights. Circles are far more efficient at keeping traffic moving which also increases gas mileage. Not to mention that circles have no expensive equipment to maintain and do not require electricity to function. Needing no electricity means less oil but also means that it works during blackouts.

Build more and better roads. The idea that Americans will be persuaded from their cars and onto buses by making commuting intolerable has been shown to be a complete pipedream. We don't live a European lifestyle that makes living on public transportation pratical. We don't shop in small butcher shops and bakeries that are on every block. We shop at Warehouse clubs and buy packs of toliet paper that physically require an SUV to get them home. Instead of perpetuating the idea that if we don't build it, they won't drive we should try to get people to their destination as fast as possible.

Another possible way government can be used to create more freedoms rather than restrict them is to provide strong tax incentives for allowing employees to telecommute or work condensed schedules. Four 10-hour days or working from home one day a week reduces commuting by 20% which increase the effective gas mileage.