Heresy! A gas tax!

Call me crazy, but all this talk of tax cuts when gov't spending is reach new heights and deficits are out of control just doesn't sound right. I was just thinking today - as I filled up my gas tank for barely $25 - that a $0.50 gas tax now would be a great idea for 2 reasons. Everyone was paying over $2 for gas just a few weeks ago, and $3+ not long before that. So anyone who says pushing gas prices back up over $2 would tank the economy would not convince me. But I'm concerned that all of a sudden the momentum to build smaller cars and find alternative energy sources will slow down just when it was really becoming mainstream. Also, there's much talk in Washington about a bunch of massive public infrastructure projects to revive the economy. Sounds great and long overdue, but again that's not cheap. A gas tax is kind of like a toll road but on a massive scale. Not sure how much it would generate, but it would sure help bring some fiscal sanity to Washington. Having said that, I don't see enough politicians having the political guts to pass something like that. But then again, one day someone over in D.C. is going to have to start bringing in more than what they spend, we all know what happens to people who continue over-extending their debt without starting to pay it down.