If the states voluntarily suspended their taxes for the same period, we would see an effect.
18.4 cents! Yeah that will be a big help when gas is at $5 bucks a gallon. These people need to go out and fill their tanks themselves to see how much it really hurts. Jeez, I get so angry at this.
“In light of the side effects associated with driving ... gasoline taxes should be higher than they are, not lower.”
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Tax, tax, tax — it is all Washington knows how to do. I wonder if this genius socialist ever thought of trying to spend less, and waste less, ever entered his mind???
“”In light of the side effects associated with driving ... gasoline taxes should be higher than they are, not lower.””
Um, global cooling?
I was wondering this morning if all the idiots that drive at a high rate of speed realize how much they are wasting in fuel? Slow down people and do the speed limit. Your wallet will thank you.
Sure, the tax suspended would be nice and immediately lower fuel costs, but conversely, it’ll also raise the demand for the fuel, thus pushing prices right back to where they currently are (if not higher).
While I’m all for keeping money out of the hands of the government, ultimately, this will not reduce consumption, which is what we have to be able to do to effect prices long term, or substantially increase supplies.
Short term, it’s a good idea, but let’s face it, it ain’t gonna happen.
“Read my lips.” wrote Greg Mankiw, a former chairman of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.
Either these projects are deferred, with concurrent economic impact, or they go forward on the back of additional Gov’t borrowing or imposition of higher charges and fees.
Either way the consumer will pay and, if taxes are eliminated, the consumer will very likely pay much more in the form of other indirect cost increases.
I say, let the market determine the price and stop the interference by the Gov’t - That is why we are in this spot in the first place.
Consumers don’t care what economists think.
It appears Obama was for a gas tax holiday in 2000 when he was a state senator.
http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-on-gas-tax-holiday-favored-it-in.html
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/04/26/obama-on-mccains-latest-scheme/
I’s sorry, but WTF? Using this logic, we might as well add a 5 dollar per gallon tax. Even stopped-clock-right-once Hillary thinks this is a good idea.
And the “former chairman of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers” thinks we should be taxed more?!?! Did I wake up in bizarro world today?
Yeah, you know, like self reliance, freedom, independence, all that crap. We sure don't want the commoners having any of that stuff.
WTF? This guy was part of a Republican administration? No wonder we're screwed.
Ridiculous. As if I'll drive extra if the price drops 18 cents.
It's not like I drive less now that the price has gone up over 60% in the last year.
While I’m of course feeling the pain as much as everyone else is the analysis in this article is drop dead correct; removing the gas taxes would only ratchet up demand which would cause the price to rise to an amount close to the amount of the offset. The only answer to the gas prices is to drastically reduce demand in the U.S. That can probably only be accomplished through a combination of reducing the speed limits to 55 MPH as Carter did (which Bush won’t do because he’s not capable of providing any true leadership) and by gas rationing as is sometimes necessary in a time of war. I frankly don’t expect to see either measure taken until after the election.
"I think high gas taxes are a regressive tax...
The people who drive the furthest are the lowest
income Americans. It is incredibly regressive.
Where's the fairness there?"--John McCain during CNBC interview with John Harwood
Actually, it is an excellent idea. It won’t help much, if any, but if we can get politicians talking about cutting taxes to help people have more money in their own lives, that is always a good thing for conservatives and a loser for democrats, since they don’t want any tax cuts (unless they are mere redistribution of wealth or welfare checks).
The notion that taxes can be and should be properly (and legally) used to control behavior is like the magic wand of politicians, who all start "serving the citizens" as poor citizens themselves, but miraculously become millionaires when they leave office...