Greg Mankiw?

I touched the ground and it wasn't any warmer than usual, it looks like the sun will still set in the west tonight...but he actually posted this today:

With the midterm election around the corner, here's a wacky idea you won't often hear from our elected leaders: We should raise the tax on gasoline. Not quickly, but substantially. I would like to see Congress increase the gas tax by $1 per gallon, phased in gradually by 10 cents per year over the next decade. Campaign consultants aren't fond of this kind of proposal, but policy wonks keep pushing for it.

Yes, that Greg Mankiw. Maybe Republicans really do want to lose this elections by any means possible...Some of my favorites:

Road congestion. Every time I am stuck in traffic, I wish my fellow motorists would drive less, perhaps by living closer to where they work or by taking public transport. A higher gas tax would give all of us the incentive to do just that, reducing congestion on streets and highways.

If only every else would use public transportation, my commute would be so much easier!

Tax incidence. A basic principle of tax analysis -- taught in most freshman economics courses -- is that the burden of a tax is shared by consumer and producer. In this case, as a higher gas tax discouraged oil consumption, the price of oil would fall in world markets. As a result, the price of gas to consumers would rise by less than the increase in the tax. Some of the tax would in effect be paid by Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

A one dollar increase over ten years will do all that? And Hugo Chavez and the Saudis wouldn't respond to lowered revenues?

Regardless of the problems, it's good to see more people--influential people--advocating this sort of thing. Eventually, it'll need to be done.