Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., wants to help cut consumption with a gas tax but some don't agree with the idea, according to a new poll by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

The poll, scheduled to be released on Thursday, shows 48 percent don't support paying even a penny more, 28 percent would pay up to 50 cents more, 10 percent would pay more than 50 cents and 8 percent would pay more than a dollar.

"I don't want to pay more, I don't think anyone wants to," said Karen Deacon, a motorist.

"I think that wouldn't make any sense," said Frankie Hoe, a motorist. "Ugh ... who's making the money from all this and where is that money going? Is it going to go green? I don't see any green things anywhere."

The automobile is the nation's biggest polluter; Americans use more gas than the next 20 countries combined.

Some environmentalists and economists say pain at the pump may be bad for Americans, but good medicine for a sick planet.

But others say it wouldn't change much. Even if Americans abandoned their cars, global emissions would fall by less than one percent.

"A tax on gas is a way to reduce dependence on import oil, reduce traffic congrestion and reduce carbon emissions," said Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute.

The Earth Policy Institute proposes raising the gas tax 30 cents per gallon each year over a decade and offset with a reduction of income taxes, Brown said.

Democrats claim that the middle class is worse off than ever before. Democrats claim that more people are living paycheck to paycheck than ever before. Democrats also claim that gas prices are crippling most Americans. Democrats also claim that they care more about the middle class than Republicans. So, how do Democrats show us how much they care about the rising cost of gas?

A Michigan congressman ( Democrat John Dingell) wants to put a 50-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline to try to cut back on Americans’ consumption.

They propose raising the price of gas to force us to stop driving so much. How is that for compassion? The government is already making windfall profits on gas and oil through taxes, but it is not enough. They know that Americans need to drive and won’t cut back no matter the cost, so this is just a way to raise more money for the coming liberal social programs that are waiting in the wings if Democrats take back the white house in November.

Democrats don’t give a damn about rising gas prices, if they did they would propose a reduction in the federal gas tax. Instead they see a necessity that they can tax and they know Americans will have no choice but to pay it.

Talk heats up over gas tax moratorium

The presidential candidates sniped at one another Tuesday about soaring gas prices.

Barack Obama said Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican John McCain are pandering to voters by advocating a summer suspension of gasoline taxes. They're just doing it "to get them through an election," he said.

Campaigning in Indianapolis, Clinton said lifting gas taxes "might not mean much to my opponent, but I think it means a lot to people who are struggling here."

McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said Obama "does not understand the effect of gas prices on the economy" and "voted for a gas tax reduction before he opposed it."

RICHMOND, April 29 -- Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said Tuesday that he would consider backing an increase in Virginia's 17.5 cent-a-gallon gasoline tax, despite the record price of fuel at the pump.

In an interview on WTOP (103.5 FM), Kaine said the increase may be needed to generate money to build and repair roads in the wake of the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling in February that threw out last year's transportation plan.

"All issues are on the table," Kaine said. "We are talking about a gas tax."

Kaine said he will call the General Assembly back into session in June to try to force a resolution of the state's transportation problems, including a projected shortfall of several hundred million dollars in the part of the budget that finances road maintenance.

Kaine said he expects to announce his proposal, which would require legislative approval, in about two weeks. He said his plan probably will include several revenue enhancements, including a possible increase in the 3 percent sales tax on vehicle purchases and a potential increase in the gas tax.