By now you’ve probably heard of the strange tax incentives that promote the purchase of such behemoth gas guzzlers as the Hummer — in fact, here in DC I’ve heard two different truck dealerships specifically advertising the fact that you can deduct the entire cost of these foreign-oil-sucking monsters.
At the same time, the IRS is phasing out the tax deduction for purchasing a hybrid vehicle. Until December 31 of this year, the deduction is $2000. Next year, it’s $1500. It goes down incrementally for the next few years until it phases out completely in 2006.
Every single person I’ve met who is interested in my car thinks logically — “Why doesn’t the government insist that all cars have this technology?” is a question I heard just today. Judging from this tax policy that rewards the owners of gas-guzzling, ultra-polluting, road-ruining trucks, the oil companies are obviously very much in charge of energy policy in this country. And that was before the current administration, which includes a president and vice president who are oil executives.
Using just a little common sense and logical thought leads one to the conclusion that we should be reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And since we simply don’t have the oil in our own country, logic dictates that we should find alternatives to oil. While a hybrid car doesn’t eliminate the need for gasoline — far from it — it is a step in the right direction. One step at a time is how you move toward the future. Some people just can’t stand the thought of moving forward.
That’s the definition of conservative.
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