Re: 35 cent tax on each gallon of gas sold.
Posted by Measurement on Feb 20, 2004 at 09:46
(68.109.0.123)Re: 35 cent tax on each gallon of gas sold. (Uncle Al)
On the first glance, I like the idea. The only problem I see is that none of the listed states include a population that has any non-incriminating say in the state policies. They, the individuals of the listed states, may enable those policies. They may even like those policies and abide by those policies, but they do not, in any way I can perceive, have control over those policies. So, unless you can kill them all, which is unlikely, you will only achieve the desired short-term result but at an unreasonably high and inefficient cost, especially considering the myriad of unintended, or unconsidered consequences.
Better to directly target the actual or presumed leadership and broaden only slightly or moderately the count of acceptable 'innocent' casualties.
It leaves you room to maneuver. It's difficult to upscale an already maximized strategy.
It deters potential leaders from becoming actual leaders.
It deters followers' association with both potential and actual leaders.
It mitigates the possibility of effective covert and overt reprisal, both of which require the aforementioned dead leadership.
It mitigates, at least to some degree, the criticisms of the pragmatic. The Greenpeace-Earthfirst types and Morgan-Rose types will bitch and whine regardless.
It leaves you room to build without having to start from scratch, or not having scratch from which to build.
It leaves you room to positively influence those not directly impacted, and perhaps even many of those that are.
Gee! If you kick that plan down a notch or two, throw in a dash or three of political reality and a pinch of pragmatic accounting and you’ve pretty much described the Bush initiative.