Early 2008 was a stunning time for most people. Given the recent economic meltdown, few remember the pain of gas prices going up to the range. Well, gas might be headed back there, but not for the reason you think.

Do you want to really get people outraged? Gather them from different geographic locations. Get one from Florida, one from New York, one from Texas, one from Michigan and one from California. Now, ask them how much they pay for a gallon of gasoline. The answers are going go cause outrage because the people from California and New York are going to pay a lot more than the others. A lot more!

The question is why? Are the oil companies playing funny with the prices? Actually, they are not. The difference arises primarily from a word we all despise. Yes, the "T" word - "taxes". Roughly 20 cents of ever dollar you spend on gas at the pump is the result of taxes. Some states tax you at the pump more than others. California is one, which is the reason it tends to have the highest gas prices in the country.

The federal gas tax is currently 18.4 cents a gallon. This figure has not been changed since 1993. This has proved problematic for a couple of reasons. The first is the revenue derived from the tax is used to build, maintain and repair the federal roads [highways and freeways] around the nation. Money is also additionally allocated to states to make up for shortfalls in their budgets regarding transportation projects.

There is an extremely good chance the federal gas tax is going to go up. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first simply has to do with the fact the figure has not been adjusted for 16 years and now does not produce enough funds to cover the revenue needed to maintain and repair the highways and freeways in the country. The government is currently facing a billion dollar shortfall in this regard.

There is a second, more subtle reason, the federal gas tax might go up as well. The government uses taxes to modify our behavior. Just look at the massive taxes continually added to cigarettes in an effort to make them so expensive that people will quit. Well, the same could be done to force us to buy more fuel efficient cars and cut down on foreign oil. Don't think so? It is already happening in another area.

What do you get when you buy a hybrid car? A huge tax credit. These credits are decided by the particular brand, but often are over ,000 or more. A tax credit is deducted directly from the tax you owe, not your gross income. This means you do your taxes and figure out what you owe Uncle Sam. Then you deduct the tax credit, which means a huge savings. So, why is this done? The answer is the government is trying to promote hybrids because they are much more fuel efficient and pollute less than traditional cars.

Gas prices have started to move up after plummeting during the economic nightmare of much of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. Increased prices are painful, but you can expect higher prices to come down the line as the federal gas tax is increased dramatically from 18.4 cents a gallon in the future. How high will it go? It will depend on what the politicians have the nerve to go for.