Dear Captain Change, President Elect Obama,

Many politicians have run under the banner of change and many will continue to do so. Nevertheless, you have the opportunity to venture where no politician has ever dared to before. You can do something that seems very unpopular and not only is it the right thing to do; it will be the best thing for America and the world as well. You could be forever remembered as the president who introduced a real and lasting change for America. Best of all you will have the opportunity to hit multiple targets (economic, environmental, social, political and global) with one strike.

Imagine reducing the fossil fuel emission and contributing to greener Earth, raising billions of dollars in new federal revenues to pay for many projects, ensuring that oil will not reach $150 per barrel again, at least not in the next decade or two.

This is the only plan that will reduce the consumption of oil like no other plan, wrecking havoc on the OPEC and forcing the Oil producing countries to price compete against one another and putting the consumer in charge of oil price instead of being a slave to it – this plan does all that and more. The car makers will be making vehicles more fuel efficient without direct government intervention and people would be getting rid of their gas guzzling vehicles and shopping for more efficient ones.

The plan is to push for a new high tax rate between one and two dollars ($1-$3) per gallon, federal gas tax. As to how much exactly should the rate be is where it gets a little tricky, the higher the rate the more effective the plan will be although it would be harder to sell the plan initially so it will need a good team of analysts who would study the plan thoroughly and come up with the most effective and palatable rate possible.

Simply introduce this new tax and let the magic begin. If the new tax is not introduced nothing can stop the barrel of oil from reaching $150 – if it has already happened before it is very likely to happen again in the near future. As simple as this logic may seem it is the reality of supply and demand. Since we cannot change the supply side we can make a good effort to change the demand side. If the new tax does not change or reduce the demand significantly enough nothing else will. Best of all, this new tax would translate to $billions that would go to the federal tax revenues instead of going the countries that hate us. What could be simpler and more effective than that? The revenues can be used to pay for programs such as new mass transportation systems. The gas consumers will do everything to cut down on gas consumption because of this new tax. The car makers will have all the incentives to make cars as efficient as possible. This has been done in Europe for decades and it is time for the US to follow suite or risk losing control. The global demand for oil will decline significantly forcing oil producing countries to price compete and sell their oil at rock bottom prices or they won’t be able to sell at all. The unintended consequences will be all positive and the world will be a better place for everyone except for OPEC.

The price for the barrel of oil could go down to that like the 1970s because there are more oil producing countries today than there was in the 70s. For the Americans this will guarantee that the price of gas will not likely reach or exceed $3 to $4 per gallon. If necessary, we can call the new federal tax “carbon tax”; call it what you want but it is necessary to be there and to be high enough in order to keep the demand for oil low. If and when necessary this tax can be tweaked for optimal effect.

President Bush told the world and the Americans that America is addicted to oil. It is time to detox, send a new message to the world that America is no longer addicted to it.

Bill Solomon

Evanston, IL