Back in June, I pumped gas for $4.50 a gallon while in California. Recently, I filled up for $1.60 a gallon around here. Adjusted for inflation, a gallon of gas costs about what it did in the 1950s.

The last time prices fell after a steady increase, Americans rushed out and bought SUVs, vans and trucks. Will we be smarter this time? We can wait for the economy to rebound to find out, or we can take action now to permanently loosen the grip of oil dependence.

The last time prices surged, political leaders lamented not raising gas taxes to siphon off more money. Now they have a second chance. Motorists have already shown they’re willing to pay more than twice what it costs now. Don’t think OPEC hasn’t noticed. As soon as it becomes practical, the Middle East cartel will hike prices and cash in. If the government is smart, it will pre-emptively boost prices by increasing the federal gas tax.

Of course, that would mean higher prices, but that’s going to happen anyway. The federal gas tax, which is 18.4 cents a gallon, has not been raised since 1997. All or parts of any increase could finance road and bridge projects that could spur the economy. Proceeds could be spent on alternative fuel solutions. Or, we could pay down the deficit. Whatever choices we made would be superior to sending the money to the Middle East.

Currently, the government is pondering a bailout of auto companies, with provisions that they begin producing more fuel-efficient cars. Let’s dump the complicated, loophole-ridden formulas for fuel efficiency and just raise the price of gas. That would be an unavoidable incentive for the Big Three to do the right thing and become more competitive.

Higher prices are also better for battling global warming, because Americans would drive less. The feds report that U.S. motorists drove 4 percent fewer miles from November 2007 to October of this year. It’s the biggest decline in history, thanks to high prices.

You can bet those will be back. Let’s be prepared this time.

Reporting live! Let’s say some whiz-bang invention allowed people to read articles as reporters wrote them. Better still, they could see the notes as reporters furiously scribbled them into their notebooks.

MV sez: all crews 24/7. Snow record. 19”. Stay home. Emerg. Only. Priority st., E-W: Div, Fran, 29th, 37th. Big berms.

The result would be a jumbled, murky version of what Spokane Mayor Mary Verner was saying about the snowstorm. Sure, the reporting would be live, but wouldn’t it be better to wait for clarity?

OK, enough about TV’s obsession with Skype.