Concerned about the current account deficit?

Here's Matthew Yglesias on another good reason for a high gas tax (Link):

In my view the biggest source of drag on net exports that’s amenable to a clear policy fix is our unusually high per capita gasoline consumption. Higher gasoline taxes to finance increased transportation infrastructure spending could, especially if the spending was front-loaded, boost employment while helping the environment and laying the groundwork for a more dynamic future economy. China’s currency peg is another significant drag on net exports, but while it’s not clear to me which US policy steps (as opposed to Chinese policy steps—that’s easy) would address it effectively.

It Worse Than That, He's Dead Jim

Here's Matt Yglesias on how much worse the oil spill is than we've been told to-date (link) while getting to the bottom of how this could have happened:

Two important pieces of news on the Gulf oil disaster today. One is that it seems both BP and the government have likely been underestimating the extent of the disaster, with oil being spilled at a pace of approximately two Exxon Valdezes per week. Here’s some video of oil pouring out of a damaged well that BP has been suppressing for weeks.

We also have a major scoop from the New York Times about how the pro-drilling leadership of the Minerals Management Service “gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species” and “also routinely overruled its staff biologists and engineers who raised concerns about the safety and the environmental impact of certain drilling proposals in the gulf and in Alaska, according to a half-dozen current and former agency scientists.”

And here's a cool t-shirt.