Gore Makes His Point
My favorite exchange from Gore's interview with Larry King comes several minutes after Al has expressed his opinion that the TV media seems uninterested in talking seriously about the very real problems we face.

KING: We are with Al Gore. We have another King cam question. Our men on the street with cameras. This one is about gas prices. Go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think it's a good thing that gas prices are high so that people don't use as much gas?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Uh-huh. Al?

GORE: Don't think it's a good thing that the increases are going to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and the other suppliers of oil. Here is -- I have made what many regard as a radical and politically impractical proposal but I believe in it very deeply, Larry. Here it is what I think we ought to do.

I think we ought to eliminate the taxes on employment, the payroll taxes that discourage jobs and make it up dollar for dollar -- no tax increase, revenue neutral. Eliminate the payroll tax and make it up dollar for dollar with pollution taxes, principally C02 taxes and, yes, that would raise the price of gasoline but it would come back to the American people in the form of sharply reduced taxes on payrolls. And for those places where there was a difficult adjustment, make special provisions there because you would have the money to do it.

KING: Let's grab another call. Green Bay, Wisconsin...

GORE: See, that's considered so impractical, there's no followup.

KING: No, it's pretty practical. Green Bay, hello?