McCain’s Gas-Tax Holiday From Reality Continues
McCain’s Gas-Tax Holiday From Reality Continues
Two weeks ago, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proposed a summer-long “gas tax holiday.” Since then, he’s been faced with the challenge that such a moratorium may sound good but would be terrible policy.
When it was pointed out that the federal gas tax funds critical transportation infrastructure and jobs, a spokesman said McCain would pay the $11 billion tab from the “general revenue.”
When it was pointed out that cutting the federal gas tax would minimally affect the price at the pump, McCain then said his proposal was just “a little psychological boost.”
When it was pointed out today by MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski that the tax cut is an expensive and environmentally unsound policy that would do nothing to help American drivers, McCain finally erupted:
Mika, you know what? All it is is it’s not the end of Western civilization as we know it according to some, quote, economists and some around America. It’s just to give Americans a little relief.
He then exposed how out of touch he is with the realities of America by saying:
I think it’s obvious that the lowest-income Americans drive the furthest and probably they spend more on gasoline because of the age of their automobiles.
In fact, lowest-income Americans drive the least, and most of the benefits of the gas-tax holiday would go to high-income Americans.
No amount of bluster can disguise that this proposal — just as it was when Sen. Bob Dole proposed a similar gas tax holiday as the Republican presidential nominee in 1996 — is a violation of the responsible economic principles Sen. McCain has formerly espoused.
UPDATE [5:30 PM]: Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, tells the Observer a gas tax holiday “would help Chavez, Qaddafi and other people like that.” He also said:
It’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in an awful long time from an economic point of view. I don’t understand why you think there’s any merit to it whatsoever. We’re trying to discourage people from driving and we’re trying to end our energy dependence. We don’t do that — oh, and incidentally, we’re trying to have more money to build infrastructure. All three of those things go fly in the face of giving everybody $30 a year. The $30 bucks is not going to change anybody’s lifestyle. The billions of dollars that we would otherwise have in tax revenues can make a big difference as to what kind of a world we leave our children.
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5 Responses to “McCain’s Gas-Tax Holiday From Reality Continues”
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Actually since the mix of automobiles and heavy vehicles like SUVs has been changing in recent years it is possible that those driving older vehicles are getting better gas mileage than people with newer vehicles.
May 1st, 2008 at 2:54 pmfletc3her…
I know my 1986 Toyota Corolla automatic with wind-up windows and AM radio gave me 29 City, 34 Highway until 2005 when thanks to downsizing I had to get rid of it.
A stickshift would have been more even economical of course, but the US seems to insist on auto transmissions on small engined cars which detracts from their inherent economy and does nothing for acceleration (which is SOOOO IMPORTANT for getting on the highway, apparently)–where of course a stick would ALSO provide better acceleration!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:31 pmOh yes, and then of course many Americans apparently wouldn’t be seen dead in a diesel-powered car, whilst the Germans for example, famous for the high status high performance Porsche and BMW and Mercedes brands, have no problem with diesels–nor indeed does the rest of Europe. I guess it must have something to do with always having paid more for gas than the US.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm5th Estate -
I drive a 2007 Toyota Matrix (sort of a modern version of your Corolla). It’s a standard (5 speed manual transmission). It’s a fun little car - I can control the RPM’s so even though it’s a little 4 cylinder it’s got enough pickup to do what I need. With a mix of city/highway, I get 33-34 MPG and a few weeks ago on a road trip (all highway) I was getting 37 MPG on the nose. Just thought you might like to know in case your in the market for a peppy little stick shift with pretty good gas mileage.
I also agree with your comments on the diesel - I have a friend with a VW Passat diesel wagon, and I think she gets around 45MPG.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:44 pmHey 5th
I had a 1986 Corolla too. Stick shift. Got much better than your automatic. You wont believe this. I did not either but checked 4 tankfulls. Drove from FL to NY and back. 4 people plus luggage, ac on since it was July/Aug. Got 50/52 mpg. Car had 320,000 miles without problems until it drowned in a flood. What a loss. I cried.
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:37 pm