I dislike taxes vehemently in general. Unfortunately it is a fact in life that death and taxes are inevitable, but it doesn't make either a good thing or to be any more desired. Too many in Europe are happy to raise taxes overall. I want the overall burden of taxation to be as low as possible, but where those taxes falls can make a difference.
The oil price is notoriously volatile - and always will be from now on. The inevitability as the developing world continues to demand more, while new finds seem to be predominantly in unstable regions, is that the price is just going to go further and further up in a volatile fashion - with occasionally violent downwards as well as upward swings. When I fill up at the pump most of what I pay is tax, so the proportional swings in real petrol prices is quite low, whereas in the US despite it being cheaper American family budgets must suffer more from the inevitable and uncontrollable swings in raw crude prices due to not being able to plan for sudden surges in gas price.
In an ideal world if I was responsible for Federal policy I'd look to phase in higher gas taxes, using 100% of the extra funds to pay for corresponding tax cuts elsewhere. EG perhaps a 1 (or more) cent in the dollar federal income tax cut, funded by phased increases in the federal gas tax. I would rather be taxed at the pump, than taxed from my pay check. That will provide relative immunity against further swings in gas prices.
What do conservative (or left-wing) Americans here think?