Will the idiots of America buy the No tax on gas plan?

[obvious Child]

McCain and Hillary seem to support a truly asinine policy to stop the gas tax this summer. Beyond the obvious fact that it won't actually work and the side effect that road quality will suffer resulting in the populace having to pay for in taxes to repair the roads at a later date, will the idiots of America buy into this asinine logic?

Poor Obama. He's getting slammed for stating with actual economics that the such a plan is a bad idea. Imagine that. In America you get attacked for using economics on a economic plan.

 

[Hatuey]

McCain and Hillary seem to support a truly asinine policy to stop the gas tax this summer. Beyond the obvious fact that it won't actually work and the side effect that road quality will suffer resulting in the populace having to pay for in taxes to repair the roads at a later date, will the idiots of America buy into this asinine logic?

Poor Obama. He's getting slammed for stating with actual economics that the such a plan is a bad idea. Imagine that. In America you get attacked for using economics on a economic plan.

I'm not economically savvy enough to engage this topic but I have a rough idea and would like somebody to answer this for me. Isn't the gas tax something like 18.5 cents per gallon? What exatcly is a temporary freeze on the gas tax supposed to do when oil prices are only predicted to go up? It seems to me like this gives people the false belief that gas is getting cheaper therefor they can buy more when the reality is actually different. It seems like putting a bandaid on a breaking damn. The ideal solution would be to increase the gas tax so that people are less willing to buy gas.

 

[obvious Child]

Isn't the gas tax something like 18.5 cents per gallon?

And about 24.5 cents for diesel.

What exactly is a temporary freeze on the gas tax supposed to do when oil prices are only predicted to go up?

Nothing. All it would do is remove that extra 18.5 cents on gasoline and 24.5 cent son diesel. If gas goes up another $1, the freeze won't stop it. It really sounds like a gimmick to get people to vote for which ever candidate is supporting it. Obama made a damn good point that by halting the tax, it will cost states jobs in road building and repair. North Carolina could lose 7,000 with minimal benefits to consumers.

It seems to me like this gives people the false belief that gas is getting cheaper therefor they can buy more when the reality is actually different. It seems like putting a bandaid on a breaking damn. The ideal solution would be to increase the gas tax so that people are less willing to buy gas.

But the issue with increasing taxes is there really isn't alternatives for long distance travel. Japan and Europe have high gas prices yet cheap, reliable and fast public transport. We don't.

 

[Harshaw]

Poor Obama. He's getting slammed for stating with actual economics that the such a plan is a bad idea. Imagine that. In America you get attacked for using economics on a economic plan.

Yeah, and his plan of penalizing (his word) "windfall profits" with a tax is gonna make those gas prices plummet.

 

[obvious Child]

Yeah, and his plan of penalizing (his word) "windfall profits" with a tax is gonna make those gas prices plummet.

Hey, just because Obama made a good point about what the gas tax halt will do doesn't mean he's infallible. Frankly, they all suck, but on this one particular issue, Obama sucks a hell of a lot less then the other two.

 

[Hatuey]

Nothing. All it would do is remove that extra 18.5 cents on gasoline and 24.5 cent son diesel. If gas goes up another $1, the freeze won't stop it. It really sounds like a gimmick to get people to vote for which ever candidate is supporting it. Obama made a damn good point that by halting the tax, it will cost states jobs in road building and repair. North Carolina could lose 7,000 with minimal benefits to consumers.

Yeah it would seem to me that a freeze on the federal gas tax would have some consequences on people who repair highways. Some of their funding must come from the federal government where is the government going to come up with the money to repair those roads?

But the issue with increasing taxes is there really isn't alternatives for long distance travel. Japan and Europe have high gas prices yet cheap, reliable and fast public transport. We don't.

I think it's part of post-WWII American culture. We've grown up to believe our cars can take us anywhere. Now that this is no longer a feasible economic reality, we still believe our cars can take us anywhere.

 

[new coup for you]

Oh I can't wait until all the suburbanites move into the city because they can't afford to drive anymore...

 

[obvious Child]

Yeah it would seem to me that a freeze on the federal gas tax would have some consequences on people who repair highways. Some of their funding must come from the federal government where is the government going to come up with the money to repair those roads?

Hillary says to 'merely' tax the gas companies. Apparently she doesn't quite understand the fiscal nature of that. Getting that tax through will take months, if not years. By then, the roads will be in serious dire shape requiring even more money to fix. Roads are relatively cheap if you do a little bit at a time. They are extremely expensive to fix if you're doing a complete overhaul or replacement. McCa-illary's plan will result in the expensive. God forbid driving on roads if that half baked idea gets passed.

I think it's part of post-WWII American culture. We've grown up to believe our cars can take us anywhere. Now that this is no longer a feasible economic reality, we still believe our cars can take us anywhere.

We need to change that.

 

[Hatuey]

Hillary says to 'merely' tax the gas companies. Apparently she doesn't quite understand the fiscal nature of that. Getting that tax through will take months, if not years. By then, the roads will be in serious dire shape requiring even more money to fix. Roads are relatively cheap if you do a little bit at a time. They are extremely expensive to fix if you're doing a complete overhaul or replacement. McCa-illary's plan will result in the expensive. God forbid driving on roads if that half baked idea gets passed.

Hillary wants to just TAX GAS COMPANIES? And I suppose they won't decide to pass their luck down to consumers. Seems like a shuffling of who's screwing who.

 

[Iriemon]

The nation is reeling from another round of oil price shock. It takes 2-3 for the economy to adjust. There's nothing wrong IMO with a temporary removal of the gas tax, even if the effect is modest it helps.

That is another benefit of a fuel tax. Had we added a $1/gal tax in the 90s, we'd be more efficient now, and the tax can be reduced as a temporary buffer to tamper the effect of world oil price spikes.

But you don't want to add one on at this particular time, when we are already hurting from high gas prices and the economy hasn't had the time to adjust.

 

[Redress]

I'm not economically savvy enough to engage this topic but I have a rough idea and would like somebody to answer this for me. Isn't the gas tax something like 18.5 cents per gallon? What exatcly is a temporary freeze on the gas tax supposed to do when oil prices are only predicted to go up?

At a guess, keep gas prices 18.5 cents less than they would be. It's not a long term solution, but it will ease the pain of filling your gas tank a bit this summer, and give some people a bit more money to spend on other needfull things.

I am kinda split on the whole thing. It will help people slightly at the pump, which is nice, but it won't have any lasting effect and only treats the symptom, not the actual problem.

 

[jallman]

Yeah, and his plan of penalizing (his word) "windfall profits" with a tax is gonna make those gas prices plummet.

I actually think you have something there. If we place a windfall tax at a specified level of profit and make it hurt, the oil companies will probably do something to stay under that threshhold. However, I also think that there should be write-offs the companies can take for things involving alternative energy innovation and cross over energy reduction research with high energy cost industries.

You'll either see gas prices come down or you will see a boom in new technologies to market and make up the profits. Those companies are going to maximize profits; they just need to be encouraged to do it in a more socially responsible way.

 

[jfuh]

At a guess, keep gas prices 18.5 cents less than they would be. It's not a long term solution, but it will ease the pain of filling your gas tank a bit this summer, and give some people a bit more money to spend on other needfull things.

I am kinda split on the whole thing. It will help people slightly at the pump, which is nice, but it won't have any lasting effect and only treats the symptom, not the actual problem.

With gas expected to reach $4 (let's just say 4 for simplicity sake), 18.5 cents is only 5%.
If your car has a 15 gallon tank (pretty average) that's going to be ~ $3 less that you would pay.
Slight ease? Not even close to being slight - utterly pointless lip service that doesn't address the root of the problem at all.

 

[jujuman13]

quote(Hillary wants to just TAX GAS COMPANIES? And I suppose they won't decide to pass their luck down to consumers. Seems like a shuffling of who's screwing who.)


Hillary wants to tax everyone.

 

[obvious Child]

The nation is reeling from another round of oil price shock. It takes 2-3 for the economy to adjust. There's nothing wrong IMO with a temporary removal of the gas tax, even if the effect is modest it helps.

How about the problem of reducing road maintenance? And losing the jobs that the gas tax funds?

Can you imagine the damage the roads of this country will suffer with a massive cutback in maintenance?

 

[aps]

McCain and Hillary seem to support a truly asinine policy to stop the gas tax this summer. Beyond the obvious fact that it won't actually work and the side effect that road quality will suffer resulting in the populace having to pay for in taxes to repair the roads at a later date, will the idiots of America buy into this asinine logic?

Poor Obama. He's getting slammed for stating with actual economics that the such a plan is a bad idea. Imagine that. In America you get attacked for using economics on a economic plan.

Don't feel sorry for Obama. He has economists behind him. :lol:

Clinton-McCain gas tax holiday slammed as bad idea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gas tax holiday proposed by U.S. presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton is viewed as a bad idea by many economists and has drawn unexpected support for Clinton rival Barack Obama, who also is opposed.

"Score one for Obama," wrote Greg Mankiw, a former chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. "In light of the side effects associated with driving ... gasoline taxes should be higher than they are, not lower."


Clinton-McCain gas tax holiday slammed as bad idea | Reuters

 

[obvious Child]

Don't feel sorry for Obama. He has economists behind him. :lol:

I'm just amazed that people eat up the criticism that is being leveled at Obama over his statements about how the McC-illary gas tax plan is stupid.

 

[Bodi]

I'm not economically savvy enough to engage this topic but I have a rough idea and would like somebody to answer this for me. Isn't the gas tax something like 18.5 cents per gallon? What exatcly is a temporary freeze on the gas tax supposed to do when oil prices are only predicted to go up? It seems to me like this gives people the false belief that gas is getting cheaper therefor they can buy more when the reality is actually different. It seems like putting a bandaid on a breaking damn. The ideal solution would be to increase the gas tax so that people are less willing to buy gas.

It encourages people to drive and travel and to spend.
It allows people to psychologically believe that the situation is not as bad as it is, thus creating a better situation than is by the mere fact that most of stock and economics is psychology.

 

[aps]

I'm just amazed that people eat up the criticism that is being leveled at Obama over his statements about how the McC-illary gas tax plan is stupid.

People are paying a fortune for gas right now. They hear a removal of the gas tax and they think, "Yeah! My gas cost will go down." Frankly, the average Joe isn't smart enough to realize what happens when the tax is removed. And even if they understood, I don't know if they would care. This is a me me me me me me me society. I am proud of Obama for standing his ground and pointing out that the average person would save something like $30 for the entire period. Wow. That's a lot of money. NOT.

 

[Voidwar]

I actually think you have something there. If we place a windfall tax at a specified level of profit and make it hurt, the oil companies will probably do something to stay under that threshhold.

Exxon made 9% on their overhead. 36.4 billion in profit, but they spent 378 billion in operating costs that year to do it. 9% is what they made as corporate profits. Ask anyone who actually knows anything about business and they will tell you that 9% is medium to poor performance.

The notion of a Windfall Profits Tax is legislated theft, nothing more.

they just need to be encouraged to do it in a more socially responsible way.

Socially Responsible is not trying to steal the money back after you burned the gas.

 

[Iriemon]

How about the problem of reducing road maintenance? And losing the jobs that the gas tax funds?

Can you imagine the damage the roads of this country will suffer with a massive cutback in maintenance?

Why do you have to stop road maintenance because you lift a gas tax?

Signed: Idiot in America.

 

[John1234]

The gas tax freeze is a gimmick to buy votes.
I do not know what Obama had to say about it.
But this is what I find to be transparent:

-It will cost our government billions while only saving the average American a couple of bucks.

-Hundreds of thousands of mangers will have to deal with signs, registers, tapes, etc to eliminate the tax for this brief time and initiate the changes.

-Within 3 weeks after the gas tax freeze starts, gas will have risen above where it would have been with the tax included.

-When Americans save change, it goes on the floorboard, in a jar that your children or wife usually loots, to the bottom of the sofa, or it just simply ceases to exist and goes to the same place that has all of your lighters, socks, and pens.
This change will in no way boost or aid the economy.

-The freeze does nothing at all to work on the problem itself.
In fact it does the opposite, it will shield the problem from its true size, and when the tax is returned... the tax combined with the existing steady rise will make the impact worse as we move into a large jump while we are already over $4.00 per gallon at this future time.

-Or worse... The government decides that the gas tax needs to stay down for an extended period once it is frozen.

This Idea is MORONIC.
Actually its brilliant too...

Moronic for a government to actually consider.
Brilliant for a crooked politician to use because any honest politician will strongly oppose this idiocy and the result is that the sheep we have in this country are going to see McCain as Santa and Obama as the guy trying to take their gas money.

What McCain is doing is no different than offering to pay people for their votes using the people's own money.
Its an idiotic plan. Our government is more concerned with being elected than it is for actual problems.

If you want a real idea to help out with the real problem which is the rate of inflation as related to shipping prices then consider this one:

Double the IRS tax credit for mileage for 2008
This would place serious help in the hands of everyone that drives a commercial vehicle which would directly relate to the rising cost of many goods.

That is just "my" idea. I am sure an economist could come up with a better one. But giving each American pocket change for their vote is not a solution that anyone with an IQ over 50 is going to come up with.

This gas tax freeze won't do anything at all except cost the government tax revenue when it is already billions in debt.
And if we do not come up with a serious plan to help truckers soon, inflation is going to start moving at a very rapid pace as it starts to cost more to ship goods than the goods themselves are worth.

 

[Iriemon]

The gas tax freeze is a gimmick to buy votes.
I do not know what Obama had to say about it.
But this is what I find to be transparent:

-It will cost our government billions while only saving the average American a couple of bucks.

-Hundreds of thousands of mangers will have to deal with signs, registers, tapes, etc to eliminate the tax for this brief time and initiate the changes.

-Within 3 weeks after the gas tax freeze starts, gas will have risen above where it would have been with the tax included.

-When Americans save change, it goes on the floorboard, in a jar that your children or wife usually loots, to the bottom of the sofa, or it just simply ceases to exist and goes to the same place that has all of your lighters, socks, and pens.
This change will in no way boost or aid the economy.

-The freeze does nothing at all to work on the problem itself.
In fact it does the opposite, it will shield the problem from its true size, and when the tax is returned... the tax combined with the existing steady rise will make the impact worse as we move into a large jump while we are already over $4.00 per gallon at this future time.

-Or worse... The government decides that the gas tax needs to stay down for an extended period once it is frozen.

This Idea is MORONIC.
Actually its brilliant too...

Moronic for a government to actually consider.
Brilliant for a crooked politician to use because any honest politician will strongly oppose this idiocy and the result is that the sheep we have in this country are going to see McCain as Santa and Obama as the guy trying to take their gas money.

What McCain is doing is no different than offering to pay people for their votes using the people's own money.
Its an idiotic plan. Our government is more concerned with being elected than it is for actual problems.

If you want a real idea to help out with the real problem which is the rate of inflation as related to shipping prices then consider this one:

Double the IRS tax credit for mileage for 2008
This would place serious help in the hands of everyone that drives a commercial vehicle which would directly relate to the rising cost of many goods.

That is just "my" idea. I am sure an economist could come up with a better one. But giving each American pocket change for their vote is not a solution that anyone with an IQ over 50 is going to come up with.

This gas tax freeze won't do anything at all except cost the government tax revenue when it is already billions in debt.
And if we do not come up with a serious plan to help truckers soon, inflation is going to start moving at a very rapid pace as it starts to cost more to ship goods than the goods themselves are worth.

Typical conservative response. Give a tax credit which only benefits those who pay income taxes, which excludes most the bottom half of America which needs relieft the most.

It's just like Bush/McCain health care "plan".

Its a good time to be rich in America.

If you are truly worried about the deficits, let the Bush tax cuts expire. Or better yet, up the tax rate to 45% to those making over a million. That is only half the rate we had in the '50s. But that'll still go a along way towards fixing the deficit.

 

[Harshaw]

Hey, just because Obama made a good point about what the gas tax halt will do doesn't mean he's infallible. Frankly, they all suck, but on this one particular issue, Obama sucks a hell of a lot less then the other two.

Well, I think they're both ridiculous ideas.

 

[hackster]

we're like baby birds with our mouths open...

cheep-cheep...
gimme a break on gas tax...
gimme my stimulus check...
gimme, gimme, gimme...

while the shoe's already dropped on the national debt and the power of the dollar.