The Gas Tax Repeal
The federal excise tax on gasoline has been the cause for major buzz in all the presidential campaigns recently. John McCain and Hillary Clinton are proposing a temporary lift on the tax (an 18.4 cent one, mind you) for the summer so that a partial burden is lifted off the American people’s shoulders. Seriously? Barack Obama, who seems like the only candidate to understand the difference between political expediency and forward-thinking policies, has spoken against this repeal saying it does nothing to curtail consumption. And most economists agree.
Thomas Friedman writes:
This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks. What a way to build our country.
Paul Krugman provides us with a quick lesson in economics:
The McCain/Clinton gas tax proposal comes too late for that. So it’s Econ 101: the tax cut really goes to the oil companies.
Lovely. So two of the three potential presidents are supporting a plan that does little to help us, if not hurt us. What I don’t understand is what their economic advisers are actually advising them with. I understand that politicians want quick fixes that seem to help out average Americans while overlooking the long-term effects but when economists and like-minded individuals unanimously agree that its a terrible policy, why keep pushing it?