Re: "unintended consequences"
I probably have not thought of them all and would be surprised with some. On the other hand, the European countries and Japan seem to do OK with prices at those levels.
The transition is relatively slow, prices jump around more than a penny per gallon a week anyway. People could look ahead and think about what if any changes in what they do. Five years is a long time to adapt.
The price of everything that is transported will go up. Things transported a long way will be at a disadvantage to similar items produced near by. Mexican tomatoes may not do as well against one locally grown (depending on season). That might reduce centralization, which is a good thing. Low income folks would be at a relative disadvantage and might need relief in some form.
People will make fewer quickie shopping trips and plan their outings better.
Sprawling development and long commutes will lose favor.
Use of public transportation will increase.
A gas station at all four corners of an intersection will become less common. Some of those gas station folks will lose their jobs.
Yea, it sucks to lose some of that individual mobility. But we've been paying for that with our health and kissing Arab ass and sending our young men to Afghanistan.
Alex
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think." -- Neils Bohr (1885-1962)
