I always feel a kind of mental disconnect when I read about gasoline taxes as a hypothetical concept. Chinn writes, "A back-of-the-envelope calculation can be useful in defining the potential impact of a gasoline tax." His other statements also imply that the concept of a gasoline tax is new and speculative.

What universe is he living in? In my universe, we already have a gasoline tax!

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp

The Federal gas tax is 18 cents per gallon, and states apply taxes which vary but are about the same amount. Many counties and cities add additional fixed or percentage taxes. Back when gas was cheap, taxes were the biggest contribution to the price. That's not true any more but they still make up a substantial amount.

What Chinn and others are talking about is not creating a gas tax, it's raising the gas tax. I don't understand why they can't speak plainly on this issue! You'd think if anything it would make their case easier, as they are not proposing to add a tax on a commodity which was previously untaxed; they are just arguing over what the proper level is of an existing tax.

Why do you suppose people don't frame the issue in these terms? As I said, I experience a moment of mental vertigo every time I read this stuff, wondering if I slipped into a parallel universe overnight.