I took quite deliberate care to try to ensure that I spoke only of 'an individual', rather than the collective. You're spot on. The point I'm trying to make, d

I took quite deliberate care to try to ensure that I spoke only of 'an individual', rather than the collective. You're spot on. The point I'm trying to make, distilled, is that we live in a world that has people commuting tens of miles to work each day. Could we fix that, preferably in a way that's not punitive? I believe without proof that fuel is an inelastic good; doubling the price of fuel (for individual use only) would not result in a halving of its' use, because it's necessary for many. Essentially; it takes effort for people to reduce their usage of some resources. For me to eat half as much cake is relatively trivial, it simply requires willpower. For me to use half as much energy than I do would require a very significant reshuffling of my life. My choices are limited, a tax hike would not change that. I think some people seem to have this idea that taxes are magical beasts. They can work if replacements are actually viable. But taxing food won't mean I eat less, I need it to survive. Hopefully you see what I'm trying to get at here.