The “Gas Tax Holiday” is a dumb idea
Gasoline prices are set by a willing buyer and a willing seller, aka supply and demand. The simple definition: as demand increases, supplies fall, and the price for the available resources goes up. The U.S. government cannot directly control the price of a global commodity like gasoline any more than it could limit what YOU can charge for that iPOD you’re trying to unload on eBay.
Eliminating the federal gas tax, about 18 cents a gallon, would encourage more driving (create MORE demand), putting added pressure on supplies, and driving the underlying price of gasoline higher. Making gas cheaper will also serve to postpone progress toward developing alternative ways of fueling cars, as such prolonging our addiction to oil.
Furthermore, since gasoline taxes are directly used to pay for rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges, this is probably not a good time to do away with them, considering the fact that bridges are falling down in places like Minnesota and California.
There is only one way to bring down the price of gas: we have to find a different way to power our cars, trucks, planes, trains and boats. As long as there are 250 million cars on the road in the US, the cost of gas will only continue to rise with each passing year.
Don’t be fooled by the “Gas Tax Holiday” gimmick, or any of the other bullshit John McCain is trying to sell you. There is no real political solution to a complex scientific problem. We need to move forward with electric cars and nuclear energy.
Leave a Reply