This editorial appears in the Yakima Herald-Republic on Jan. 7, 2009.

With the price of unleaded gas dipping below $1.65 a gallon, it's time to celebrate, right? Not so quickly.

If President-elect Barack Obama wants to cut back on our dependence on foreign oil and make a serious push for fuel-efficient automobiles, something has to give. The days of cheap gas may never return.

Just listen to one of the board members of the National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing.

"We can either let the roads go to hell or we can pay more," said Adrian Moore.

The commission wants to do just that -- make the price of gas go up and, in turn, inject new funds to pay for needed roads, bridges and transit programs. One of the ways to reach these goals is through an increase in the federal gas tax. There's also a proposal to change what is being taxed.

But first the gas tax.

The federal gas tax has not been raised since 1993. It now stands at 18.4 cents for a gallon of gas and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel. The commission wants 10 cents added to gas, and diesel to rise from 12 cents to 15 cents a gallon.

Another idea being floated is to devise a variable consumption tax that would never go below $4 or $5 per gallon, fluctuating as oil prices and other costs ebb and flow.

We all know what happened when gas skyrocketed over $4 per gallon earlier. Sales for trucks and gas-guzzling SUVs nose-dived; small cars, especially hybrids, suddenly became the rage. The higher fuel taxes, the commission argues, will dampen the desire to return to the status quo of several years ago when bigger was better.

Higher gas taxes, of course, are nothing new for this state. We already rank No. 8 in the nation with a combined state and local tax rate of 36 cents per gallon. Naturally, California leads the way with about 48 cents.

The timing for an increase in federal taxes, when the nation is battling a recession, is, to be blunt, not good. We can see the benefits that this recent drop in gas prices has had on consumers, giving them a much needed boost in spending cash -- a necessary ingredient for an economic recovery.

What the commission has also proposed is changing how we are taxed -- away from the gas-pump formula and toward the number of miles we drive. This warrants further study. Oregon has looked at this approach, and has even equipped GPS monitoring devices in some 300 vehicles to see how this concept may work in the real world.

Certainly, if we are successful about cutting back on our consumption of gas, the old model of taxing at the pump in order to pay for improvements to our highways and transit programs will no longer be sufficient. In fact, it's not paying the bills right now.

Fairness seems to argue for taxing those who drive the most. It's certainly worth thoughtful consideration -- down the road.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Barbara Serrano, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.