Economist’s gas ‘facts’ seem somewhat skewed

As I was reading “Economists in favor of state fuel tax increase” in the Jan. 14 Gazette, I had a sudden urge to pull out my calculator. Iowa State University economist David Swenson was quoted that the typical family would only pay $32 a year on a 10-cent (per gallon) gas tax increase.

My calculator tells me you only buy 320 gallons of gas before crossing the $32 tax threshold. Going to two different government websites, I find the average American family drives around 21,000 miles per year and the average American vehicle gets around 20 miles per gallon. That 320 gallons of gas we get before spending the extra $32 in gas tax will only get the average family 6,400 miles in a year.

My wife and I live, work and shop in the immediate Cedar Rapids area. We drive to Chicago and Minneapolis once or twice a year. Even with this staying-close-to-home lifestyle we put 20,000 miles on our vehicles each year, burning more than 1,000 gallons of gas. I have a hard time believing our vehicle use is far from average.

I don't have the facts economist Swenson has, but then again maybe Swenson only looked for the “facts” that made the point he wanted to.

Dennis Feldmann

Cedar Rapids