More Motor Fuel

Today The Economist published a chart about petrol prices. The point of the table was to show that, while governments around the world are currently blaming the high price of motor fuel on the high price of crude, there is another reason for price rises: Higher taxes. Since 2008, rich countries have raised petrol taxes by an average of 3.6%. In Greece, the tax increase was 14.8%. Yikes. In the United States, petrol taxes have increased by 4.2% since 2008. When combined with the reduced efficiency associated with the addition of ethanol to our gas, our per mile transportation costs keep moving upwards.

I can understand the role of taxation in curbing a behavior—burning fossil fuels—that our society has decided is morally "bad." But, I am a little worried about the effect on consumption associated with the push to make fuel cost more. The Keynesians who currently run the world can see this, right? If household consumption is going to pull us out of the Great Recession, taxing motor fuel during a time of rising crude prices is going to dampen consumer demand is it not? OK, so much for the economic theory. As a practical matter, Rural Ways is staying home more and more as motor fuel costs rise. If petrol prices reach 2008 levels, Rural Ways will be done driving: If it is not an emergency, the answer is "no."

Tax Time

Each year at this time, Rural Ways spends many hours . . . days . . . sweating over federal tax forms. Rural Ways is inhabited by honest citizens who wish to do their civic duty by way of complying with the tax code. Unfortunately, after hundreds of pages of instructions, dozens of forms, and many days of head scratching, Rural Ways files tax forms that may contain errors. Why? Because, despite years of practice, the complexity of the tax code puts full understanding of it beyond the reach of our time and resources. Nor is this problem limited to the dullards at Rural Ways. The President's bi-partisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform recently reached this same conclusion:

"The current individual income tax system is hopelessly confusing and complicated. Many taxpayers are required to make multiple computations to see if they qualify for a number of benefits and penalties, and many dole out large sums of money to tax preparers. Meanwhile, other taxpayers underreport their income and taxes, hoping to avoid the audit lottery. In short, the Commission has concluded what most taxpayers already know – the current income tax is fundamentally unfair, far too complex, and long overdue for sweeping reform."

As a result, the Commission proposed steps to simplify the tax code and make compliance straight-forward. These proposals were, however, quickly buried and will never be brought forward for Congressional debate. In order to reach Congress, the Commission itself had to vote to accept its own proposals. The vote fell short because none of the sitting members of Congress on the Commission would approve it . . . even though they wrote it. The only Commission members to approve the proposals were those who had retired and no longer have to face the voters. This is because, in our current political climate, being willing to compromise makes you un-electable. Alas, Rural Ways will spend the rest of this day . . . and many days to come, trying to conform to the 2010 federal tax tables.

Arapahoe Basin, Colorado

At one point, Benson said, "There must be a reason why no one is skiing in Montezuma Bowl." My response was that we needed to stop worrying about what all the people from Vegas might be doing and go our own way. He couldn't argue, so we traversed out there. It was hateful: The surface was bulletproof and covered with ACL-tearing frozen chicken-heads. I told him that it was stupid to ski Montezuma when, obviously, it wasn't any good.

Instead, we worked our way around the mountain until we found Pallavicini. Perfection, finally. Soft, mid-winter styrofoam with smooth sections perfect for beginners. I was home . . . I was in my happy place. Not Benson, though. He thought he wanted to try the West Turbo. So, I let him. We agreed to meet at the lift. Benson never arrived. After a while, Danny said, "Hey, there is somebody on a snowboard." "It can't be him," I responded, "That guy is just sitting there." Unfortunately, it was him. But, he wasn't the same. His psyche had been damaged by the crawling he had done. We took a couple more laps, but I'm not sure his hands ever stopped shaking.

Breckenridge, Colorado

It was 33 below zero when we got up. Needless to say, we were in no hurry to ride the chairlift. By the time we went out it was around 17 below. At Rural Ways we are prepared for anything. Usually. Not today. My hands would not thaw out and I wasn't sure I could keep skiing. Fortunately, Benson had one of those silly chemical hand-warmers. Silly no more. It worked well enough for me to survive. We made it until 3pm, and then got ready for our last run. Unfortunately, Danny got lost. By the time he made it to the base, he was numb, blind, and retching. Another great day on the mountain.

Green River, Utah

The guy at the front desk told me that the wind chill was minus 23. Given that, I probably should have been happy that the truck started, and I probably should have just driven straight out onto the freeway. But, I didn't. I wanted to see the sunrise on the Book Cliffs. My mind's eye was full of last night's sunset: The cliffs were alive with light, glowing like a million embers along the northern skyline. So, I turned north just outside of town and drove along the east side of the river until I came to a high point where I could look down into its valley. It was a great spot, but I was not rewarded with much of a sunrise. There were a few bright shafts, but mostly there were clouds. The river, sluggish with ice, issued from the cliffs in front of me and spread into the valley, but the hills refused to glow.