Enough With the Drilling Talk Already

Offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is the equivalent of giving methadone to heroin addicts. It creates methadone addicts! It will not wean people off oil; it will ruin beaches, which will reduce tourism, ultimately lowering revenue and thereby tax income. It is predicted there is 18 billion barrels of crude oil under the Gulf of Mexico, and if we could access all of it, every drop, it would last 870 days, at the current 20.7 million barrels used per day. That is 2.4 years worth of oil, which would be great, except it is expected to take between 5 and 10 years to have the equipment setup to drill. Here’s the rub, if we still need oil in 5 to 10 years, the game is already lost.

In an effort to skip the middle part of the process, namely ruining the environment in order to put a Band-Aid on a wound that had better be long since healed, let’s skip to the end and reduce tax income. I know the government does not need to lose tax income, but isn’t a year or five worth of subsidies better than the long term damage that will be wrought by an “environmental accident”.

Here is my proposition, starting with the 2009 auto year, the first car manufacturer to field an entire line of electric, hybrid, or high-efficiency cars and trucks will be allowed to write off all U.S. federal and state income tax from the sale of these products and the licensing of their technologies to other companies in the following tax year. A product line is being roughly defined as the entire product offerings for retail sale, encompassing at least five styles: coupe, sedan, pickup truck, SUV/cross-over (or comparable), and one that is the company’s prerogative. None of the gasoline-powered vehicles can have less than 85 miles per gallon to qualify, while electric and hybrid must have a range of 400 miles, and no other vehicles may be sold. Additionally, consumers will be able to take a deduction on the sales tax from purchasing these vehicles.

This program will last five years, each year a different measurement will be used to determine the car company that has done the most to further the effort. For example, the 2010 product lines could be judged based on average efficiency for the total product line, and by the 2013 lines, it could be the first company to use only renewable energy sources. The key here is to create S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) goals and incentives for the automotive manufactures, foreign and domestic. Additionally, by making the sales tax, tax deductible, the price comes down and the units sold will go up. Within the five years, an estimated 85% of the cars on the road would be high efficiency vehicles that will not necessarily require a completely new infrastructure immediately. However, if hydrogen stations are needed, for example, the savings on income tax will generate the funding necessary to make it happen. The results will be cleaner air, a safer environment, and a cultural shift in our dependency on oil.

Now seriously, is that so hard?