GM CEO: Customers Don't Pay High Enough Gas Tax

They don't call it "Government Motors" for nuthin.

It appears peculiar that a company would demand that government do something that hurts its customers. But that’s what many limited-government policy experts are saying after General Motors CEO Dan Akerson told the Detroit News that he wants to see the federal government raise its gas tax by as much as $1 per gallon. Akerson told the Detroit News that he’d like to see the federal gas tax hiked to get customers to be more receptive to smaller more fuel-efficient vehicles.

According to the Detroit News: “A government-imposed tax hike, Akerson believes, will prompt more people to buy small cars and do more good for the environment than forcing automakers to comply with higher gas-mileage standards.”

Akerson’s comments highlight a conflict of interest between General Motors’ ability to please customers and the federal government, which bailed it out and still owns 26 percent of the company, according to Sam Kazman, general counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

“It’s crazy to see industry serving government rather than serving the public,” Kazman said. “Carmakers are calling for an increase in the cost of the things that drive their product – gasoline. That suggests there is something really wrong with the world.”