Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 31, 1990 TAG: 9007310405
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A pause for the cries of anger and indignation to die down.
No, nobody likes the idea of a tax increase on anything - especially not on petroleum, so important to the U.S. economy. So who likes the idea of becoming more dependent on foreign countries for a big chunk of our energy supply?
If any of this sounds familiar, it should. America went through this wringer more than a decade ago, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries discovered the power of unity and arbitrarily jacked up crude-oil prices. The U.S. economy stumbled, stuttered and staggered for years until it could adjust to the increases.
That experience alerted Americans to the benefits of conservation. The price increase also gave a temporary boost to the domestic oil industry. The country reduced not only its gasoline consumption but also its reliance on petroleum imports.
After a time, OPEC's unity weakened, and so did crude-oil prices. U.S. oil consumption inched up, as did imports - now nearly half what the country consumes. In both those categories, the United States will soon surpass the peak figures of 1976. Meantime, U.S. production of petroleum has skidded, suffering its greatest-ever single-year decline in 1989. And oil accounted for about 40 percent of the nation's trade deficit last year.
Some will argue that, with the economy weakening, this is no time to increase taxes on so pivotal a product as petroleum. So when will there be a better time? If there was one, it came and went years ago. The American political system is geared to delay rather than action. But waiting seldom helps, and to muddle through is to surrender control over our future to outsiders - some not our friends.
The accord OPEC members signed in Geneva last week was accompanied by dire threats against cheaters, a sign that the cartel's unity could again be fragile. The United States - indeed, the industrial world - should not bank on that. For the short term at least, prices will rise on world markets and at the gas pump. The sooner America acts, the more say it will have over a changing energy situation.
A sizable hike in the gas tax would raise the cost of energy, thereby renewing the push for conservation and easing the nation's growing addiction to overseas oil. And that's not to mention the good effect on the federal deficit. How many more chances will we have?
by CNB