Gas Tax Holiday - Why Not Just Hand Out $65.00 Checks?

[Median Democrat]

Assume average motorist consumes 20 gallons of gas a week. Assume the gas tax holiday lasts 9 weeks. The gas tax is $0.18 a gallon. Thus, the gas tax holiday will save the average motorist about $32.40. A two motorist household will save about $65.00.

Ironically, the holiday will favor those who drive more and do not use public transportation. Indeed, your savings increase the more fuel you consume. Also, Hillary's proposal suggests paying for the lost revenue by taxing oil companies. However, what's to keep the oil companies from passing on these taxes to consumers, thus canceling out the effect of the tax holiday.

Even more ironically, Obama supported a similar gas tax holiday in Illinois. This gas tax holiday failed to lower gasoline prices for motorists, so perhaps Obama's opposition is due to his first hand knowledge of how this fails to provide motorists with relief:

"Obama took a different view on the issue when he was an Illinois legislator, voting at least three times in favor of temporarily lifting the state's 5 percent sales tax on gasoline.

The tax holiday was finally approved during a special session in June of 2000, when Illinois motorists were furious that gas prices had just topped $2 a gallon in Chicago.

During one debate, he joked that he wanted signs on gas pumps in his district to say, "Senator Obama reduced your gasoline prices."

But the impact of the tax holiday was never clear. A government study could not determine how much of the savings was passed on to motorists. Many lawmakers said their constituents didn't seem to have benefited. They also worried the tax break was pushing the state budget out of balance.

When legislation was introduced to eliminate the tax permanently, Obama voted "no." The effort failed, and the sales tax was allowed to take effect again."

So, perhaps Obama's mistake drives his current opposition. Personally, I have tried to reduce my driving, so I'd rather that the government just send me a $33.00 check for my efforts.

[tridim]

1. Here's an idea

Arrest and imprison the crooks in the oil industry who are stealing from consumers and raking in 6 billion in profits every fucking year.

[Median Democrat]

2. Of course . . .

The crooks would manage to pass on their litigation costs and costs of incarceration to us consumers.

[Adsos Letter]

3. well, the incarceration costs are a given...

...taxes, and all that...

[LSK]

6. do you know that profit is the left over money after all your costs???

:shrug:

[Ilsa]

4. Nationalize the oil companies. nt

[LSK]

5. this is why

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=minnesota+bridge+collapse&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

Any questions?

[gratuitous]

7. And that money is spread out over more than two months

So you're getting about five or six bucks a week for nine weeks.

During which time, gas prices will magically go up about, oh, let's say $0.18 a gallon? Purely a coincidence, but that means the consumer won't save any money at all. And instead of millions or billions in road and bridge maintenance revenue, the flow of dollars will stop entirely for the government. After the bridge in Minnesota collapsed last year, do you suppose all the other bridges in the country just magically fixed themselves? Or have they gotten another year older, another year crumblier?

New road construction: None. Filling in the potholes on the interstates: None. Expanding existing roadways: None. Enforcement of interstate commerce statutes and regulations: None. All for the privilege of re-directing this income stream from the federal government to big oil companies.

I understand why Straight-Talkin' Johnny Maverick decided to endorse this hare-brained idea; why in the world did Hillary Clinton think it was a good idea?

Oh well, never mind that. Let's talk about Rev. Wright and Miley Cyrus' bra straps.

[Initech]

8. How about raise the fucking minimum wage?

National average is $5.75 / hour. Which would have been great if it were fucking 1956. But now the price of a gallon of gas is soon going to equal what an hour of minimum wage is. Here in California, minimum wage should be at least $25.00 / hour to keep up with the cost of living. But sadly it isn't. Increase in minimum wage + lowering gas prices = there's your god damn economic stimulus.

[Javaman]

9. What I want to know is this...

Where is the money going to come from that pays for the infrastructure and road upkeep?

is this the other gigantic shoe that will drop if this colossally stupid bill gets passed?

"oh by they way, we gave you a tax break on the gas, but now the piper has come a calling and we are now going to raise the price of gas by exactly 19 cents to make up for the 19 cents we cut this summer".

[underpants]

10. That is an interesting way to look at it

I went with the per fill-up savings
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3227952

Still with $65 I can get another fill up!!!!

[Median Democrat]

12. Why Not A Tax Credit To Folks Who Use Public Transit?

Instead of cutting taxes on gas and hope that gas companies are nice enough to pass on the savings, why not just give a tax credit or a subsidy directly to commuters who use public transit? This will increase demand where it should be increased (mass transit), and reduce demand on gasoline. Kill two birds with one stone?

[onethatcares]

11. I think I heard about another round of economic stimulus

checks being considered. That was this afternoon on NPR, something dana perino said during the press fluffer. I don't think a gas tax holiday is gonna make much difference in the overall outcome of this recession, nah, not much at all.