It seems as though American drivers just cannot win.
First, gas prices go through the roof, at one point this summer topping $4 a gallon.
So Americans had a logical response — they drove less. Drivers logged a staggering 50 billion fewer miles on the road from November 2007 to June 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier.
That's great, right? Fewer miles driven means less petroleum consumed. That means fewer carbon emissions to warm the planet. That's what conservation is all about.
But maybe, it's not so great after all.
The decline in miles driven has put the U.S. highway trust fund on the brink of insolvency. The fund, which pays for highway and bridge projects, will be $8.3 billion short by the end of September. That means delays in payments to states for desperately needed highway and bridge repairs.
The reason is that the trust fund is supported by the federal gas tax. Fewer miles driven means less revenue coming in.
Drivers are caught in a web of illogic spun by inconsistent federal policies. On one hand we are encouraged to conserve. But doing so means our roads and bridges continue to deteriorate.
Here's an area of domestic policy our presidential candidates need to address.
