This New York Investment Firm sent this letter to President Bush, advocating a change in US energy policy and taxes. Alger’s proposal makes sense:

“Beginning in 2008, any car or SUV that cannot meet a fuel efficiency standard of 30 miles per gallon will have to pay a tax of $1,000 per year.” And the tax could generate “as much as $200 billion in revenue” in its first year, and “may increase in subsequent years,” the letter says. The money management firm says that one of the biggest issues for Americans is the soaring price of gasoline and that the prospects for lower gas prices are not likely due to increasing demand from U.S. consumers, as well as soaring demand from nations such as China and soon from India. Alger asked President Bush to set a national goal of cutting gasoline consumption in half over the next 10 years. This, they say, needs to be adopted quickly in order to reduce America’s dependency on Middle Eastern oil, which “allows U.S. motives to be questioned, fairly or not. Reducing gasoline consumption and increasing our energy independence will enhance not only our economic and military security but also ensure that the legitimacy of our foreign policy is not undermined by our energy needs.”

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