Tax Yourself on GasolineShalom and welcome to Tikkun Tips. A Bi-weekly nugget of love and eco-Jewish thought from your friends at the Teva Learning Center!
The Chumash teaches us that when conducting a census, Moshe was instructed to collect half a shekel from each person. Later, the Torah teaches that we should give 10% of our income to charity. This was established as a form of tax, of social welfare in which the poorer people were taken care of by the wealthier.
Today we have an extensive tax system, yet we have little control over how our tax money is put to use. In recent years commodities that are seen as less essential or more harmful, such as alcohol and cigarettes, have been assigned higher sales tax. This system seems to accomplish several goals; it deters people from smoking and drinking in excess, and raises money that is then used for good causes.
Tikkun Tip # 2: Tax yourself on gasoline
We all understand how Americans use their cars more than any other people in the world. We consume huge amounts of natural resources, contribute enormously to air pollution, create insane traffic and have spread further away from the urban centers, turning one time prairie and wooded lands into suburban developments. However, making the move to public transportation is not always such a realistic alternative; we have become dependent on our cars, so we must find some other way to offset the ecological impact of our driving. New technologies are being developed and refined every day so that car emissions go down and are more fuel efficient. But many of us, myself included, are not in a position to buy a new car, or revamp my current mode of transportation to one of those vegetable oil-run cars.
Instead, we can make a small difference every time we buy gasoline. Take 10% of the total bill and set it aside. Give this money to some sort of environmental organization or better yet, organizations that promote environmentally friendly transportation methods. Not only will we be giving money to charity, but it will make us a little more conscious about the amount we drive, and perhaps encourage us to seek other modes of transportation when possible.
Teva Learning Center
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New York, NY 10001
teva@tevacenter.org
www.tevacenter.org
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Carbon Counter
Interested in gauging your personal carbon footprint? Check out the Carbon Counter website, where you can measure your CO2 output and find good organizations to donate your gas tax money to!
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