Should govenment ease the energy pain?

Can government policies make us be better stewards of the environment? Can they push us pell-mell into alternative fuels that most Americans have resisted for decades? Can government -- or should it -- ease the pain on energy prices right now, even if that might delay disruptive energy changes?

Or should market forces lead the way in getting us to fire-sale SUVs and pile onto the T?

Click here to read an opinion piece in today's Globe by Edward Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard.

Or just glance at his concluding paragraph: "Consumers have the ability to make wise decisions if they face prices that accurately reflect costs. Firms have just as much ability to innovate in ways that will attract thrifty buyers. High prices may be painful, but they convey a key nugget of information: Energy is scarce; use it wisely. If the government uses tax policy to artificially reduce energy prices, then the government will only deter private individuals from appropriate conservation.''

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