For consumers, oil prices are a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy economy. Gasoline prices are nearly at a five-year low.

“We’re paying about a billion dollars per day less than we were in July” for gasoline, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. “We could probably bail out some banks and maybe even some of the auto companies with the savings.”

Americans curtailed travel and got more interested in fuel-efficient cars when gasoline was much more costly, peaking above $4 a gallon. For the time being, they continue to conserve gasoline.

Is this because the economy in general has them pinching pennies, or because people realize that saving energy is a sensible way of life and that gas prices can go back up? We shall see.

We hope energy conservation will be a lasting habit. If it’s not, Washington policymakers will be tempted to consider a gasoline tax to reduce consumption, promote energy independence and reduce the federal deficit.

Let’s not give them an excuse to tax.