What if you could make driving dramatically more expensive in a way that won’t punish people who drive, but reward those who seek ways to reduce their driving without wrecking the economy?

Thirty years ago, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer proposed a what he called the “Net Zero Gas Tax to reduce consumption. To keep revenue neutral, he tied his proposed gas tax increases to a dramatic reduction in the payroll tax equal to the average tax paid nationwide.

For example, if the average American contributes $4000 annually toward’s Krauthammer’s dramatically higher gas tax (on the order of a dollar per gallon), then every taxpayer gets a $4000 tax rebate.

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Good morning from America. I love the diversity of Americans who ride bicycles in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.

We make America great by paying more than our share in taxes to support transportation infrastructure and subsidize those drive. We take up under ten square feet of road and parking space vs over 100 square feet required for each and every car. The inconvenience we cause to other road users is inconsequential when compared to the gridlock caused by thousands of space hogging motor vehicles. We rarely kill or maim others, while motorists kill somebody directly every three hours. We don’t contribute to killing smog, and help keep fuel prices lower by leaving more for others to use. We do all this with minimal wear and tear to roads, driveways and parking lots, since the damage caused by each bicycle is less than 1 part in 40,000 compared to the damage done by a medium car.

Is it too much to ask for the Powers That Be to occasionally throw us a bone?

Enjoy the ride!