McCain's idea is ridiculously stupid.

I called McCain's office yesterday to tell him so.

I talked to a staffer named Robert.

Me: is this eighteen cent gas tax holiday -- is he serious? Or is it a
Democrat trap?

Robert: Okay, I'll pass along the comment.

ME: No, I'm asking a question. Is he seriously proposing this?

Robert: I'll have to pass you along to the campaign. He proposed that
as part of his campaign. He has not introduced any legislation.
(he may have said, he's not planning to introduce any legislation). I
can give you the number for the campaign.

Me: Oh, so it is just a Democrat trap! I have to say, I'm relieved --
because this is a really stupid idea. I don't know if Senator McCain's
been watching what's actually going on with gas prices, but if you drop
the .18 tax, the price will go up by 30 cents by September -- but
instead of being in the Treasury where we can use it to maintain the
roads and public transit, it will be going directly into the pockets of
the oil companies. We should have raised the tax by two dollars six
years ago.

Robert: (pause). Okay ... (frustrated). I'll pass that along.

Me: Thanks. Have a great day.

--------------------

If we had raised the gas tax by one dollar per gallon in October, 2001, we would have

1. brought in enough revenues to fund the war in Iraq in cash, rather than putting it on the credit card.

OR

begun a massive program to transition to the next energy economy. We could have converted every gas station in the country to run hydrogen for $100 billion.

that much of a hike, that quickly, would have begun to decrease demand and drive demand for alternatives and efficiency.

We're paying twice that extra dollar -- the cost of a gallon of gas has risen by two dollars during the Bush years. Except none of it is going into improving the infrastructure of the nation -- well, 18 cents. And none is going toward the next energy order.

It's all going to the oil companies, and they're not using it tp start to move to the next thing, according to thir own execs testifying before Congress. They're using it to build a surplus for their own future lean years, when the oil runs out (which they simultaneously argue is not happening.

We are awfully shortsighted.

So, you construct an argument that high gas prices are not a result of Bush's shoddy leadership, because there's nothing he could have done to prevent it. That's only true if you have an extremely narrow view of the problem - i.e. that it's the prices themselves that are the problem, rather than the difficulties that high gas prices present to the majority of the population.

Bush had a clear set of choices over the past 7 years. He could have listened to clear scientific evidence about climate change and peak oil, and diversified the US's energy sources, demanding higher efficiency vehicles, investing in renewables and energy efficiency. Or he could have listened to the greedy, blinkered view of his oil company buddies, and helped line their pockets further.

He chose wrong. This is shoddy leadership at its worst.

Does anyone at Grist work for a living in a real job?

I imagine all of you in thatch huts in Vermont, rooting for berries and occasionally slipping into the public library to post here.

Alternatively, you are trust fund babies living in a condo paid for by your parents in Bellevue...and it's either reading Grist or watching cartoon network until the party starts at 7pm.

Either way, giving a poor working stiff a few cents a gallon by cutting the tax isn't really much different from what Cosco or Safeway do when you use their club card.   What are the effects of saving 0.3c a gallon?   Does CO2 go up?   Does "mass transit busways" get stalled?  Do people take their 0.3c a gallon and invest it in coal plants.

No.  But for a little while, it makes Mr. American smile for a second or two while stuck at the pump.

That's all.

J. Bailo Participant Texeme.Construct()

Most of the people that have every lived have not driving a car. Most people currently alive don't drive and most people that will ever live on the planet will never drive.

Its time Mr America gets a grip and start taking responsibility for the future and stop whining about expensive gas.

I have to wait to post until I get home from my job, rather than use my computer at work for personal use.  Yet "someone" suggests that no one who posts at Grist works for a living, while posting in the middle of the day.

Just makes me wonder...

Instead of giving this tax holiday, which will only encourage people to drive gas guzzlers, the government should take a leaf out of the books of other governments such as India and Spain who are planning to subsidize purchase of Electric vehicles.

I present to you J. Bailo!

WE all want to know what J. Bailo does for a living, besides being the biggest nay-sayer of Grist.org's opinions  

He obviously is a trust fund baby along with the writers of this website, right?  Writers are all rich babies!  Who has time to read through everything on this website...EVERYDAY?  Why are you a subscriber J?

PEOPLE! Keep your minds conservative!  The world is just fine, nothing is wrong with any of our leaders and their policies.  It's the democrats that want to destroy us and our leisurely american ways!

Let's change the laws and let GW run for another 4 years!  He is our only hope!  Right JB?  Everything is just peachy republicans have all the good ideas.  It's the democrats that got us where we are today.

Nay.