6/26/00 11:40 a..m.
Gore: Raise Taxes on Fossil Fuels
Another tax-the-Americans excerpt from Earth in the Balance.

By Al Gore

o doubt if the American people were asked whether they supported specific measures that might be necessary to actually follow through on this proposition [of the U.S. using its position to get other countries to join together to take action against world environmental problems], the results would be quite different. In fact, almost every poll shows Americans decisively rejecting higher taxes on fossil fuels, even though that proposal is one of the logical first steps in changing our policies in a manner consistent with a more responsible approach to the environment. But this pattern is a common one: the American people often give their leaders permission to take action by signaling agreement in principle while observing the right to object strenuously to each and every specific sacrifice necessary to follow through. A popular idea doesn't always spawn a popular plan: the Marshall Plan is a fine example. Though the people and Congress supported the notion of the United States leading a European recovery program, as soon as President Truman proposed granting large sums of taxpayer dollars to make the plan work, his approval figures in the public opinion polls dropped substantially almost overnight. Similarly, there is no doubt that several measures that would be necessary here in the United States in order to meet these threats would be unpopular and carry enormous political risk. But the American people are, nevertheless, beginning to give their leaders permission to challenge the nation to take bold, visionary, and even difficult steps to confront the environmental crisis forthrightly and responsibly. At open meetings in communities throughout Tennessee, I have found that voters are willing to go much further to meet the crisis than most politicians assume is possible — but they are waiting for leadership. Indeed, I am convinced they are hungry to hear hard truths and are ready to make the all-out effort necessary for an effective response.