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You better be prepared to unwind the clock about a hundred years if gasoline costs $10/gal. Because the simple act of making it too painful to bear will not really solve anything. Unless you believe that making pot illegal solves the pot problem too. Making a NEED regressively expensive will not temper the use of that NEED but for the poorest people. And I really don't see my city not hiring cops because they can't afford fuel for the cars. I do see the cops going on ticket writing and 'law enforcement' rampages to pay for it though. Meanwhile my Dentist barely notices the price of gas. His CLK 55 Benz gets 14mpg or less and so what?
20% of the oil in this country is used in the production and processing and transport of food. You might also want to dial back on all plastic and most pharmaceuticals. And forget about paving the streets. And tires on the cars on those streets.
I've suggested innumerable times the use of scooters and rickshaws for urban/suburban use. Turns out Americans hate that. I know if gas goes to $7/gal I'll get another 150cc urban scooter and keep the cars parked unless absolutely necessary. And I don't commute either. Lucky for me.
Turns out when you make toll roads to change the way people drive there are always people who are perfectly willing to pay any toll if it will save them time as they tool along one in a vehicle.
