Should we raise the federal tax on gasoline?

[Storebought]

I can truly admit being indifferent to gasoline prices, but raising during a recession is unwise.

Rail travel is unrealistic (even if the optimal form of travel for distances of about 200 mi or so), since you have issues of (1) fuel -- trains burn diesel, which is even more expensive than gasoline. Even you replaced those with the electric trains, where will trains that use electricity from overhead lines get the spare power? (2) right of way issues and the NIMBY madness that inspires (3) the tracks themselves -- US rails haven't been improved on since the 1960s, and eliminating grade crossings with over- or underpasses is slow, slow slow.

"Light" rail is just a boondoggle.

But the major reason that rail travel will fail is that rails are a form of public transportation. Americans despise public transportation (I've read something like nearly 4 in 5 Americans have never ridden public transportation once in their lives), mostly on the grounds that it brings them too close to other members of the public.