Opinions might be divided over what the most effective
way for the government to conserve energy is. People of diverse ages and from
different walks of life may take diverse positions on this controversial issue.
Personally, I think that the government should raise the tax on gasoline and
electricity, because people use less energy than before due to the price and
the government can invest the tax revenue, which comes from the price increase,
in technology development.
To begin with, due to the decrease of nuclear
generating plants, saving energy has become a more important issue than ever before. If the price
increases, people are would be more
careful in using energy because of their limited budgets. This can save energy.
Opponents of my perspective may claim that the government should not raise the
price, because it is would just be a burden to many citizens. Advocates’ claim might sound reasonable on the
surface. However, if we take a closer look at their contentions, the rationale
for their assertion lacks logic in many ways. Moreover, my personal example can
debunk their claim. There were many cars on the street in Seoul, so I always
got up early to go to the school because of traffic jams. However, as
soon as the Korean government raised the price of gasoline by 30 percent last January,
half of them the traffic disappeared. So,
I don’t need to hurry to go to the school in the
morning anymore.
In addition, beyond my personal example, there are
many articles which can support my argument. They expressed the doubts
that are similar to my point of view. A few weeks ago, I had a chance to read
an article from the Dong-A Daily News that is related to the topic. It
described the results of the survey conducted by the Samsung Economic Research
Institute social science researchers with more than five hundred government
officers working at Ministry of Finance and Economy as
respondents. According to the article, of the 500 officers surveyed more
than 80 percent of them answered that the government can secure significant tax
revenues from the increased price, and it is enough money to invest in
new technology development project to get energy effectively. The officers went
on to say that because of lack of resources, like crude oil and nuclear fuel,
it is urgent to develop alternative energy sources.
Based on
the examples that I mentioned above, I can conclude that the most effective way
for the government to conserve energy is to increase the price of gasoline and
electricity.