One of the biggest stories in current events is the high price of gas (wow - remember when it was Iraq?).  This got me to thinking:  as a conservative, free-market guy, how would I reduce gas prices in the first place?

Well, first, I’d note that it’s not the government’s responsibility to “solve” any of our problems - but given our current situation, there would be some ways to take government out of the equation and get prices back to a more manageable level.  Here’s President Dan’s 5 ways to reduce gas prices:

1.   Boost Domestic Oil Supply (Bonus:  Disturb some wildlife in the process)

You reduce prices when there’s more of something - thank you, supply and demand.  The United States is actually home to a treasure trove of untapped oil that, often times, won’t be tapped because of environmental concerns.  In other words, we can’t cut the trees down because someone’s hugging them.

More specifically, we could boost domestic oil supply by drilling in ANWR (Alaska Natural Wildlife Reserve).  According to the ANWR website, in addition to creating potentially half a million jobs,

The Coastal Plain of ANWR is America’s best possibility for the discovery of another giant “Prudhoe Bay-sized” oil and gas discovery in North America.

2.  Permanently lower the gas tax down to nothing 

People like to talk about oil company profits, but the government takes plenty of money off the top when you fill up your tank.  Current estimates show that around 15% of the money you put into gas goes to federal and state taxes.  For a better breakdown of where all the money goes, click here.

According to zFacts.com, the U.S. gas tax is about 45 cents per gallon.

What better way to reduce prices than to lower taxes?  This might have some unintended consequences, such as driving up demand again, but if the government is serious about “stimulating” the economy, this seems like one of the easiest, most direct ways to do it.

3.  Improve the value of the dollar 

One of the reasons oil barrels cost so many dollars is that they’re priced in dollars - and dollars are week.  We could slow down inflation by reducing the amount of new dollars we print and by balancing the budget - which liberals and conservatives would disagree on how to do.

4.  Stop buying gas
Americans have had a lot of stupid “boycott gas stations!” days in order to protest high gas prices.  Problem is, that’s like a striking worker saying “I protest my pay!” and then returning to work after the first day of the strike.  Oil producers don’t even have to think about calling your bluff.

How do we stop buying gas?  By not needing it.  Some will go the eat your own poo more ecological route, or we could work on technology that doesn’t need as much or any gas.  High gas prices will drive the market towards more fuel-efficient cars and even better technology.

5.  Be nice to Canada 

As I’ve written before, the U.S. gets most of its oil from Canada, which has the potential to develop lots, lots more oil. We need to be nice to them if our foreign oil addiction will endure through most of the 21st Century - apparently, invading Iraq didn’t help things.  So let’s be nice to Canada and hope we get some sort of preferred status.

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