The Oil Drum

46 comments on McCain's Gas Pains: Gas "Tax Holidays" A Good Idea?

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Earthworm Jim on April 15, 2008 - 8:30pm

How will it compound problems when, like Cslater8 says, it will never get passed? Cslater8 has it exactly right. McCain is just saying it because the average voter thinks he's a great guy for coming up with the idea. Yeah, we know it's idiotic. Voters who advocate a balanced budget will be against it as well. But for 95% of the voters, it improves their opinion of John McCain. Politically, coming out with proposals like this is gold.

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enemy of state on April 15, 2008 - 10:55pm

What is the economic effect of such a proposal? The pump price will seek a new equilibrium somewhere inbetween what if would have been without the change, and the naively presumed price minus the tax savings. In short for every dollar gives up the consumer will save much less than a dollar. Todays oil market is a great example, McCain's proposal tells the oil market "Those Murican Eeeediots will resist the needed adjustment in consumption. Therefore the prospects for demand destruction at current prices are lower than we thought just yesterday". Voilla $114/barrel. Todays reflexive rise is worth about $.07/gallon, i.e. the consumer has already given up to the oil sellers 35% of the proposed gain.

But Joe Sixpack is ignorant of economics -or to the fact that the lack of revenues will probably cost us another bridge collapse. Its probably good politics.

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x on April 16, 2008 - 7:23am

McCain's proposal might be political gold, but it is a fraud. It comes from a dishonest person representing a state full of land fraud of which I have been a victim. I posted about this before and will not repeat it here.

Arizona survives buy sucking water and wealth from others. Do not trust representatives from such a place.

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beggar on April 16, 2008 - 9:14am

Ah. Political alchemy. McCain tries to turn an idea which is essentially manure into gold.

Of course we all know that manure can be composted and used as fertilizer. The idea of reducing the gas tax has no benefit at all.

Political discourse in the USA amounts to manure which politicians try to pass off as gold.

Many in the dumbed-down electorate take this stuff quite seriously.

I'm looking for a sign of hope today. Will I find one?

The reality that the politicians might want to discuss is that too many people are competing for too few resources.

McCain, Clinton, and Obama might want to point out that the likely outcome of resource war is bad for everyone -- there will be no winners, only losers.

Next the politicians might point out that the steps to peaceful powerdown are going to require intense international cooperation as well as a great deal of change in the way we Americans live.

We will essentially be on a peaceful war footing, fighting for survival together with others, rather than against others.

However it is far more likely that the politicians will continue spinning the Petro-fascist and Christo-fascist narratives already begun. These will continue to be woven into a rationale for endless war.

Still, I look for some reason to be hopeful.