NY Times Editorial: Pass Gasoline Tax Now

With prices at the pump as low as they have been in years, Americans may not be able to resist the temptation to go back to gas guzzlers. The Times advocates insuring that gasoline prices stay high from now on to keep this from happening:

A bitter recession is not the most opportune time to ratchet up the price of energy. But if the Obama administration is to meet its twin objectives of reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and cutting its emissions of greenhouse gases, it needs to start thinking now about mechanisms to curb the nation’s demand for energy when the economy emerges from recession in the future. This also would serve as a signal to American automakers and American drivers that the era of cheap gasoline is not going to last.