Alex+&+Moxley

====Text: The United States federal government should increase the federal excise tax rate and phase-in a price floor and variable tax on gasoline for surface transportation infrastructure in the United States.====

====First, transportation infrastructure is financed in one of two ways – through the general fund, or through increased revenue – Stimulus Programs finance through the general fund while failing to repair the Highway Trust Fund====
 * ARTBA 2k10 **(American Road and Transportation Builders Association to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform “The Contribution of the Federal Transportation Investment Programs to Fiscal Responsibility and Deficit Reduction,” pg online @ [] //um-ef)
 * __Transportation Investment __**and User Financing... expanded transportation improvements.

Second, Congress just passed a MASSIVE transportation bill – it should have triggered your disads, but didn’t fix the Highway Trust Fund
__Congress____ional leaders__ announced opaquely last … __avoid raising the gas tax__.
 * Snyder 6/26 **(Tanya Snyder became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica and public radio. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC., pg online @ [] //um-ef)

First, current Federal Energy Strategies fail – they impose market distortions, and ineffective constraints on private industry

 * Turgeon 2k10 **(Evan N. Turgeon, Legal Associate at the Cato Institute; J.D.University of Virginia School of Law 2009; B.A. Tufts University 2004, “Triple-Dividends: Toward Pigovian Gasoline Taxation,” Journal of Land, Resources, & Envir onmental Law 2010, pg lexis//um-ef)

__The U__ nited __S__ tates __' current energy …__ impoverish society as a whole." n44

And, specifically new CAFE regulations are coming –
__The 2012-2016 Corporate Average Fuel Economy …__ out what solution works best.
 * Greene 6/28 **(Michael, “34.1 MPG CAFE Standards for 2016 Upheld by U.S. Court of Appeals” http://www.treehugger.com/cars/341-mpg-cafe-standards-2016-upheld-us-court-appeals.html//HH)

They’ll collapse job growth and the Auto Sector

 * Brownfield 11 **(Mike, “How Will Obama’s EPA Regulations Affect the Auto Industry?”, http://www.askheritage.org/how-will-obamas-epa-regulations-affect-the-auto-industry//HH)//

// Say goodbye to cars and … 10 times that many serious injuries.” //

//** And, Auto Recovery is essential to U.S. Economic recovery – the auto industry will drive other sectors and ensure job growth **// //** U.S. News 2k12 **(“Is the U.S. Auto Industry on Track for a Comeback?,” pg online @ []// um-ef) More than three years after … be hard for the Japanese."

And, a weak economy causes conflict – all emprirical analysis goes our way
Second, on a dyadic level. Copeland's (1996. 2000) … in the use of force.
 * Royal 10 **– Jedediah Royal, Director of Cooperative Threat Reduction at the U.S. Department of Defense, (Economic Integration, Economic Signaling and the Problem of Economic Crises, Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal and Political Perspectives, ed. Goldsmith and Brauer, p. 213-215)

The plan kills damaging CAFÉ Standards and transitions away from government interventions into the market

 * Krauthammer 2k9 **(Charles, American Pulitzer Prize–winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician, McGill University degree in political science and economics, Commonwealth Scholar in politics at Balliol College, Oxford, Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School “The Net-Zero Gas Tax; A once-in-a-generation chance,” pg lexis//um-ef)

So why even think about it? … rewriting of fuel-efficiency regulations

First, the deficit is on an unsustainable path – now is the CRITICAL time to re-orient policies to stave-off a new debt tragedy

 * Council on Foreign Relations 3/2/12 **

(“U.S. Deficits and the National Debt,” pg online @ [] //um-ef)

At some point in the … active U.S. foreign policy ," he says.

And, the plan is a KEY TEST for future budget debates – increasing revenue ensures a sustainable fiscal path

 * Washington Post 3/7 **

(“A fiscal test for Congress,” pg lexis//um-ef)

__Over the past year, many …__ predictable economic crisis in history **__"?__**

And, Failure to Reign-In Deficits and Establish Fiscal Discipline Guts U.S.-China Relations they’ll be over-aggressive, gutting cooperation
(Eswar, Eswar Prasad holds the New Century Chair in International Economics. He is the Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was previously head of the Financial Studies Division and the China Division at the IMF, “The U.S.-China Economic Relationship: Shifts and Twists in the Balance of Power,” pg online @ [] //um-ef) The lopsided nature of trade … system and tackling climate change.
 * Prasad 2/25 **

Multiple Scenarios for Extinction
China's development needs a peaceful international … accomplishments in China-US relations.
 * Wenzhong **, PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2-7-** 4 **(Zhou, “Vigorously Pushing Forward the Constructive and Cooperative Relationship Between China and the United States,” [])

First, U.S. Manufacturing is contracting – lack of sales and demand

 * Reuters 7/3 **(“U.S. manufacturing shrinks, 1st time in nearly 3 yrs,” pg online @ [] //um-ef)

(Reuters) - __U.S. manufacturing shrank in …__ its slowest rate in 18 months.

And, surface transportation investment is __…__ U.S. Manufacturing – props up dependent industries

 * Hermann 2k11 **(Andrew Herrmann, P.E. SECB, F.ASCE President American Society of Civil Engineers, Impact Of Infrastructure Investment On The Manufacturing Sector, pg lexis//um-ef)

ASCE commends the Joint Economic … : Increase federal leadership in infrastructure;

And, manufacturing capabilities key to technology necessary for U.S. DIB deterrence

 * O’Hanlon et al 2k12 ** (Mackenzie Eaglen, American Enterprise Institute Rebecca Grant, IRIS Research Robert P. Haffa, Haffa Defense Consulting Michael O'Hanlon, The Brookings Institution Peter W. Singer, The Brookings Institution Martin Sullivan, Commonwealth Consulting Barry Watts, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments “The Arsenal of Democracy and How to Preserve It: Key Issues in Defense Industrial Policy January 2012,” pg online @ [] //um-ef)

The current wave of defense … __U__ nited __S__ tates __in a globalized marketplace__.

Defense industrial base deters war with Russia

 * Watts 2k8 ** (Senior Fellow @ The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (Barry D, “The US Defense Industrial Base, Past, Present and Future,” CBA, __http://www.csbaonline.org/4Publications/PubLibrary/R.20081015._The_US_Defense_In/R.20081015._The_US_Defense_In.pdf__)

Since the 1950s, __the US … has been since the 1950s__.

Extinction
Bostrum ’02 [Dr. Nick, Dept. Phil @ yale, “… encounter in the 21st century.

And, All levels of manufacturing and R&D are interconnected – a sustainable manufacturing base in the U.S. is critical to Advanced Manufacturing and R&D

 * Lind 2k12 ** (Michael Lind is policy director of New America’s Economic Growth Program and a co-founder of the New America Foundation. Joshua Freedman is a program associate in New America’s Economic Growth Program. “Value Added: America’s Manufacturing Future,” pg online @ http://growth.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/Lind,%20Michael%20and%20Freedman,%20Joshua%20-%20NAF%20-%20Value%20Added%20America%27s%20Manufacturing%20Future.pdf //um-ef)

Manufacturing, R&D and the U.S. Innovation Ecosystem __…__ 20-30 percent in 2007 to 50 percent by 2020.33

Independently, that innovation solves great power wars

 * Taylor 2k4** (Mark, Professor of Political Science – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “The Politics of Technological Change: International Relations versus Domestic Institutions”, 4-1, http://www.scribd.com/doc/46554792/Taylor)

__Tech__ nological __innovation is of central …__ exist in the first place

And, advanced manufacturing technology will make war IMPOSSIBLE

 * Paone 2k9 ** (Chuck, 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs for the US Air Force, 8-10-09, “Technology convergence could prevent war, futurist says,” http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123162500)

__The convergence of "exponentially advancing …__, even if people don't know it.

The plan solves – establishing a price floor sends a signal for renewable energy development, while increasing revenue for transportation infrastructure
(Adam, J.D., University of Iowa College of Law, 2010; B.A., Wake Forest University, PHd Student @ Univ of Indiana, “Why the Government Should Drink Your Milkshake: The Case for Restructuring the Federal Gas Tax,” The Journal of Corporation Law Winter, 2009, 35 Iowa J. Corp. L. 393 pg lexis//um-ef) __Congress should enact legislation__ __to …__ as the government deems appropriate.
 * Abelkop 2k9 **