Letters to the Editor
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The straight dope
Arguing for the gas tax holiday is like arguing to support George Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest. In both cases it is true that the tax cut benefits consumers on the lower end of the economic food chain but it is also true that the greatest benefits are reaped by the wealthiest, in this case the oil companies themselves. There is no system in place for the US government to control how the oil companies respond to the tax cut. They could, as they often do, fill at least some of the cut with price increases.
Wouldn't it just be simpler to target this financial aid in the form of income tax cuts to people making less than say $75,000 a year? Let's say a gas tax credit of $1000, a whopping $972 more than they would save under Clinton's plan.
This issue is pandering on a whole other scale of being a moot point. The US Congress has already indicated that there is not enough support on this issue to propose such a bill. Thus, no such bill will be considered. The argument Clinton is making is purely academic. She can do nothing to save driver's money this summer! And most economists are thankful for that.