Letters to the Editor
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Lets assume you are right.
Then what? We cut prices by getting rid of the tax. Then we put a windfall profits tax on the oil companies to pay for it.
Sounds great.
A year goes by and world demand is largely unaffected and the prices return to their regular levels. So now what? People are sure having a tough time at the pump, what should we do now? Lower the federal gas tax? Well we can't, it doesn't exist anymore.
That's the problem here, it doesn't really matter if it works or not. It won't offer any solutions to the real problem. Every time I hear suggestions like this (and we've seen in for years now), they neglect the fact that there is only so much room to affect prices. The tax is finite.
What we need is a comprehensive plan to our transportation energy needs. Either that, or people just have to suck it up at the pump and get over the fact that there are no quick fixes to the problem. So here's Hillary coming out with a quick fix measure that will do little overall and Obama disagrees with it, she's actually the better of the two? Come on. It's political pandering, plain and simple.
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mikelx
It's not about solutions...it's about political prostitutions.
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smellaa
How come someone who allegedly lives in Berkeley can't spell it? Maybe you're from Okeland. Dumbo.
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Lifting the gas tax is not the answer. It's a band-aid on a bleeding gash.
From the article: "Many -- including Clinton backer and economist Paul Krugman -- have questioned whether Clinton's proposed windfall profits tax would work: "In one pocket, out the other. So it's pointless, not evil, " says Krugman. "But it is pointless, and disappointing.""
Exactly. It is pointless. All it does is make a promise to voters to throw a few bucks in their direction.
Hmmm, can anybody think of another politician who recently has thrown some money at voters in hopes they'll like him?
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@Xrandadu Hutman
“George Frost is Sidney Blumenthal's alias”
“Just a guess.”
Guess again. A more likely scenario:
All of the economists were, you know, busy at a white tie elitist function…
Staff: Hey Joan, how about George?
Joan: Who?
Staff: You know, George Frost, that lawyer guy who did the analysis that shows Hillary can still win and, maybe, should be the nominee?
http://www.civicactions.com/blog/democrats_need_way_out_of_alligator_pit
Joan: Oh yeah, most people would agree he is brilliant!! I think Saul Wilentz even consulted with him.
Staff dissenter: But what if the readers don’t buy it? They didn’t fall for that Wilentz piece.
Joan: Do I actually care what the readers think? What’s the matter, you think I don’t have balls?
Salon readers: That’s just more bullshit Joan, take a lesson from a REAL editor:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080519/betsyreed
Never mind, you wouldn’t get it, anyway. Betsy’s clearly out of your league.
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Pander, pander, pander
Hillary Clinton and her supporters in this gas tax fiasco have completely sacrificed their credibility with this position. How in the world could anyone support a policy that encourages wasteful usage of gasoline in this time of foreign dependence of oil and global warming? It it truly disgusting to see what has become of her campaign. I can only hope that Americans are wise enough to see through these phony statements.
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Crumbs
Oh, what delicious crumbs the Clintons offer! And all we have to is hand the presidency to someone who:
A. supported Bush's WAR in Iraq
B. started the extraordinary rendition program under which terror suspects are TORTURED
C. wouldn't even ban the use of CLUSTE R BOMBS in civilian areas (estimated to have killed or injured upwards of a thousand Iraqis).
D. WENT BACK ON THEIR PROMISE to allow gays in the military with don't ask, don't tell, and
E. discuss "OBLITERATING" foreign nations
The fact that so many intelligent, compassionate people (who think they're liberals and feminists!) let themselves get snookered by these blatant NEO-CONSERVATIVES is depressing beyond words.
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Let's assume that the holiday does what the deniers say - pass-through payment of the tax from consumers through oil companies
There are still tangible benefits to this idea -- psychological benefits.
Behavioral economics will tell you that people make all sorts of irrational choices, repeatedly, and that intangible psychological effects move markets. People don't ignore sunk costs, don't account for inflation, buy into panics, etc.
And all this whining about oil companies making huge profits? Yes, they're huge in numbers, but please look at their profit margin before running around like chicken little. And btw, where do these crazy profits go? Oh, that's right, to the shareholders in the forms of dividends, or back into the company to make more profits, for those shareholders. And who are the shareholders? Regular old Americans, with their 401K plans and mutual funds and Roth IRAs. When profits go up, the value of your portfolio goes up. So stf up.
Oh, and i'm a lawyer with an economics background.
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So uh, just who is going to sign a law to enforce a windfall profit tax on oil companies?
Bush? On yeah, Bush will help the American people against the oil companies, especially if it means he has to sign a bill put forward by the Democrats. Right.
I am someone who has to be on the road continually for the next 6 months in a van. A three-month moratorium on the gas tax will give me, maybe, $200 break. I can eat the $200, raise my prices ten cents a item.
This, as well as tax rebates, are political gimmicks, nothing else. The loss of revenue always has to be made up somewhere else.
But it does not solve the problem, or even address it.
The real question is: Why has the cost of a barrel of oil risen from the mid-20s, to $120 a barrel today, since 2000? I don't believe it is all OPEC's fault, and I don't believe it is only because of consumption. I believe there are deals being made, nest eggs being feathered, payoffs and profits being hidden away.
Perhaps if that was investigated, those profits could be confiscated and applied to the price of gas.
Follow the money.
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Salon Has Become Hillary's In-House Magazine
Every reputable economist asked about the gas tax calls it ridiculous and self-defeating ... but Salon thinks it's a great idea!
Hilarious.
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PT Barnum
There's a sucker born every minute and Hillary is going after that vote. It is really the insanity vote the bigot vote the grade 8 education vote and the George Frost vote. She might get them all. She cannot elevate America or uplift or heal by that approach. The world is hoping for something less shallow fully expecting to be let down again by the lowest common denominator. Out of her mouth ... anyone who tells the truth is an elitist. If the bar is set so low, she might be right. Elitists of America unite! You have nothing to lose but the chains of ignorance! Hillary does know about life in a Circus though.