"Put in a tax to make it $4 a gallon right now," urged CNN contributor Allen Wastler on the April 28 "In the Money."
Wastler's motivation for higher taxes was to encourage alternatives to gasoline.
"Because when you saw us flirting with $3, all the sudden we got a burst in hybrid production, we got a burst in ethanol production," Wastler explained to the "In the Money" crowd.
But the CNNMoney managing editor did not explain the burst in government mandates and regulations that helped fuel those alternatives.
The "In the Money" team including Ali Velshi and Christine Romans not only urged higher gas prices (with taxation), but hyped the threat of $4-a-gallon gasoline, though the national average is still below $3-a-gallon.
"There are forces that could make $3 gas something that we're not worrying about becaue we're worrying about $4 gas. Three-dollar gas could end up looking like a bargain for you," said Velshi.
Wastler did slightly undermine Velshi's prediction by indicating "some experts -- some, not all -- saying you'll see $4 a gallon gas this summer. Particularly if you live on the West Coast, California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada."
