Quote:
Originally posted by sgtclub
Right, but less control over the country as well. Which would mean that there could be a vacuum for other bad types to step in. I think this would be, in state department speak, very destablizing.
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That is one possibility. Another possibility is that the Saudi royal family will hoard less wealth and become less oppressive to help to reduce the chances they will be overthrown.
I think if it is done quickly, your scenario is more likely, but if it is done more gradually, my scenario is more likely. I do think that if we are going to do it gradually, we need to start doing something now. I would start with modest increases in the gas tax, on the order of 25 cents, and modest increases in the CAFE for cars/trucks and reclassification of SUVs as cars (with a few years of lead time for the manufacturers to be able to do it, of course), removal of the perverse tax incentives and addition of tax incentives for fuel efficient cars.
