[svandamme]

well , road tax in Holland is done by weight
in Belgium it's done per engine displacement

but realistically , fuel tax also covers heavy cars... the heavier they are, the more they guzzle, there's no way around that.

taxing fuel is a bit late on in the game , but they could add a tax if/when the prices drop again, i'm sure in europe , they will undo the tax cuts imposed since the prices went up.

when they do that, and effectively invest in public transportation
then the US will rely less and less on oil for transportation and basics
that's something to aim for

Bush may say he want's to rely less on oil and outside sources for energy , but realistically , it's going to take a long time before cars run on alternative energy, a lot longer then it takes to change the energy source for electricity on the grid. So having the prices drop to 1990's level is not such a good plan ( for as much as such a thing would still be possible ) and at some point , US will have to bite the bullet , get over the car/oil addiction , and start building infrastructure so future generations have something more than a car junkyard and refinery's without oil...
keeping the prices up , would also prevent wasting it, encourage economical cars, and make the resource last longer than the current predictions...


the biggest risk i would worry about if i were you , would be making sure it's used for public transportation , and not to fix the budget deficit or to fund things like Iraq...