Tax breaks for people whose energy consumption habits aren't likely to
make the next hurricanes even more destructive.

Bill, I think your quote from "Finnegan's Wake," though.  Have you read
the thing?

Just tax gasoline. Offset the extra tax with cuts in
regular taxes. Fire your accountant and buy a fuel
efficient car or use mass transit. Everyone can do that
but not everyone can give up their DL.

That's why I asked. There is no connection.

The problem right now is that the wars are funded 100% by
borrowing from foreign banks.  That's the only thing that
the conservatives know how to do well is borrow money.

He's not very good with math. The US uses about 400 million gallons a day.
The tax on a gallon is between 35 and 50 cents depending on the state. It
would not take long to save up enough to have a real nice war.

The police are a profit center for many Governments, not a cost.   There is
a lot of revenue in those tickets they give out all day.

When I biked to work, I would take a shower upon arrival. By 9AM, I
was fresh and clean as a whistle and sitting at my desk, ready to
begin the day.

Try living in the U.S. and getting a job without having a car.  It's easy to
do.  The job application for non-car-owners in the U.S. looks like this:

1)  Name
2)  Address
3)  Phone Number
4)  What hours are you available to work?
5)  I understand that employment is "at will"  (sign below)

You could literally print this post, fill it out, and use it to get just
about any job available to non-car-owners in the U.S.

If you want to fill out a job application significantly longer than those 5
lines long, you need a car to get from where you are living to where you
would like to work.  Essentially, if you have a college education in the
U.S., you can not afford to work where you live, as the local employers are
hiring for non-skilled, non-educated (sh.t wages) positions, only.  That's a
bit of an over-simplification, but pretty much true for most areas of the
U.S.  There are areas with good jobs, and areas with affordable housing, and
there is usually a good distance between the two areas.  Bicycle?  Not
practical.  Mass transit?  Not available, or not practical, usually.  In the
U.S., you pretty much own a car and use it daily, or you are (pretty much)
unemployed.  That is, unless you have a high-paying job in a big city, where
you can afford to pay OUTRAGEOUS rent for a tiny studio apartment, and ride
the subway to work.  That does work for some people, but it's not a choice
most would make, obviously.  -Dave