Time - USA (2022-04-11)

26 TIME April 11/April 18, 2022

ACROSS THE GLOBE, POLITICIANS
are fuming about record-high gas
prices and proposing a range of pol-
icy mechanisms to bring down costs,
including cutting gas taxes and of-
fering drivers rebates. These policies
make political sense as everyday peo-
ple suf er at the pump, but they help
mask the true cost a gallon of gas
imposes on society—from the risk
of trai c accidents to the contribu-
tion to climate change. Calculating
the damage is a fraught process, and
economists don’t necessarily agree

about all the variables. But one thing

is dei nitely true: driving costs soci-

ety much more than you’re paying

to do it.

These unpaid costs to society—

what economists call externalities—

are fairly easy to understand. Cars

cause gridlock, which reduces pro-

ductivity. Accidents kill tens of thou-

sands in the U.S. each year. Cars gen-

erate air pollution and, as a result,

contribute to health ailments like

asthma and heart disease. Impor-

tantly, cars also emit carbon dioxide

Climate Is Everything

By Justin Worland

SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

and contribute to global climate

change. The average U.S. passenger

vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon

dioxide annually, and transportation

is responsible for nearly 30% of the

country’s greenhouse-gas emissions.

To i nd a precise estimate of the

externalities associated with driving,

I turned to a 2007 paper from Re-

sources for the Future. The research

group found that if you add up all the

mileage-related externalities—namely

congestion, accidents, and local air

pollution—the cost comes to a whop-

ping $2.10 per gallon. Climate change

contributes another 72¢ per gallon if

you look at the group’s estimates that

are in line with current understand-

ing of the ef ects of emissions. Add the

two up and it’s clear the cost of the ex-

ternalities can total $3 per gallon.

Of course, no politician is propos-

ing a gas tax to account for all the

damage driving causes. On average,

state taxes add 31¢ to the cost of a gal-

lon of gas while federal taxes add an-

other 18.4¢, according to federal data.

Nonetheless, the numbers of er an im-

portant dose of reality: without a radi-

cal policy change, drivers are getting

a free ride.

◁

Vehicles wait to

refuel at a Costco in

Seattle on March 9

By Philip Elliott

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