From Wikipedia:

"The Pigou Club is described as an "an elite group of economists and pundits with the good sense to have publicly advocated higher Pigovian taxes, such as gasoline taxes or carbon taxes." Typically these pundits and economists also advocate lowering other taxes, such as the income tax or the corporate tax. These ideas are also known as an Ecotax or green tax shift."

The Pigou Club was founded by economist N. Gregory Mankiw. Here are some reasons he has for a Pigovian tax on gasoline consumption:

The burning of gasoline emits several pollutants.

A higher tax on gasoline would reduce road congestion by encouraging other forms of transport.

A consumption tax is the simplest way to reduce incentive to consume gasoline - easier and more efficient than 'heavy-handed market regulation.'

Our current budget deficit is far too large to be sustainable. We need to raise money to address the gap between revenues and expenses.

As demand for gas decreases, the worldwide price of gas will fall.

Consumption taxes are better than income taxes, because they encourage saving and investment.

We rely on Saudi Arabia and Russia, two corrupt governments, for oil. Many other corrupt governments benefit indirectly from US consumption of oil. If we stopped feeding them money, then they would have less sway in world politics.

Right now the Pigou Club is pretty exclusive, but there's no reason it needs to be. Here college students can express their interest in raising the consumption tax on gasoline. Hopefully, when political figures speak on your college campuses this fall, you need to ask them why the gasoline tax is so low and why we aren't trying to raise it. (read less)

From Wikipedia:

"The Pigou Club is described as an "an elite group of economists and pundits with the good sense to have publicly advocated higher Pigovian taxes, such as gasoline taxes or carbon taxes." Typically these pundits and economists also advocate lowering other taxes, such as the income tax or the corporate tax. These ideas are also known as an Ecotax or green tax shift."

The Pigou Club was founded by economist N. Gregory Mankiw. Here are some reasons he has for a Pigovian tax on... (read more)