The Farmers Market

When I was growing up I remember the winters as being full of canned and frozen vegetables. Fruit and fresh vegetables were very expensive and nearly out of reach. Now thanks to the various free trade agreements we all enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables year round because, as they say, it is summer somewhere. While I am quite happy about this situation there really is nothing like really "fresh" vegetables and living in New York, we have the farmers market.

The farmers market spreads itself over union square on Saturdays and Thursdays, selling produce, meats, cheeses and breads from New York and New Jersey farmers. That means, of course, if it is not in season it is not in there. All produce must be grown locally. While the prices are not cheap like the farmers markets up-state, quality is there. I encourage everyone in New York to taste the difference.

Foreign Oil

The president of the United States spoke about one of the most important goals for our country - reducing our dependency on foreign oil. Whether this will be followed through on remains to be seen and many are skeptical. One thing that is clear is that any significant reduction is not going to be accomplished solely by bringing on new energy sources such as Nuclear, ethanol and Solar. We simply have to face the fact that conservation is integral to this goal.

In the U.S. we enjoy one of the lowest taxation rates on gasoline of any industrialized nation. Many believe we should simply tax fuel to the level common in Europe to force conservation. While you do see your fair share of large Mercedes and BMWs in Europe the average fuel consumption is far less that in the U.S. So why not do this.

The answer is simple. It would hit all the wrong targets. Businesses would have higher running costs and have to pass this on to consumers which would drive inflation. People on the lower end of the economic scale would be hit hardest and those who live in rural areas would be unfairly disadvantaged. This simply will never happen.

What about mandating fuel efficiency standards in automobiles. This sounds like a great idea but also not work. The government is simply not equipped to set a standard that would be aggressive enough and would end up with luke warm requirements that met the needs of Detroit and did little to advance the state of the art.

The answer must involve free market tactics. Certainly taxation has to be part of the incentive to give up the massive SUVs but it has to be carefully targeted to avoid the afore mentioned pitfalls. You have to tax the less efficient vehicles as the leave the show room and do so in a self-regulating way.

Here is an example. While the government would be ineffective at setting the optimum fuel standards they could set standards for performance of vehicles. By this I mean something such as horse power or acceleration. These standards would rarely change and could more likely be agreed on.

With a minimum performance standard in mind, the most efficient vehicle to meet that standard could set a base line - no tax on that vehicle. Vehicles that are less efficient get taxed substantially as there is no rational argument for why they are needed other than because the consumer wants them. If the consumer wants them, they can afford to pay for them. More money in the coffers and no one unfairly taxed.

Could it work? Maybe. Does anyone have the guts to do it?