Letters to the Editor
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And another thing
if you believe that there is anyway that the congress is going to pass a windfall profits tax you'd best get your head examined. On the infinitesimal chance that does happen- say the republican half of congress decides to call in sick that day- Bush (still president, god help us) will most certainly veto it.
Can anyone reasonably argue otherwise?
Knowing the proposed legislation - literally can not go anywhere and can't help anyone - doesn't that show what straight up pander this is?
(Sure we all know the candidtates talk about their policies and proposals but Hillary is promising this now. How? It is not possible even if it was a good idea.)
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It would be nice if the author could get his facts straight
I followed the link about gasoline inventories and it said,
"In recent weeks, gasoline inventories have fallen sharply".
Therefore, Mr. Frost seems to be in error when he wrote "Gasoline inventories are currently very high, and these surpluses can absorb much of any increase in demand."
If Mr. Frost had even a basic understanding of economics, he would know that refineries build up inventory in the spring to prepare for the increased demand of the summer driving season. This is clearly demonstrated on the inventory graph seen on the link Mr. Frost helpfully provided, but apparently did not actually read.
Gasoline supply remains inelastic, therefore tax cuts will only increase demand, prices will increase, and oil companies will profit. A gas tax cut in Illinois 8 years ago is not comparable to a national gas tax cut today. Illinois uses only a fraction of the nation's gasoline supplies and the effect on local prices from a state (not national) tax cut would be different.
Perhaps Salon should look harder for an author who reads his own sources.
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Wow
Apparently all you need to be an opinion writer for Salon is Wikipedia, Google, and a JSTOR subscription. Just a tip, if you're running an article about physics, run it past a physicist. If you're running an article about energy economics, run it past an energy economist. Calling these two measures "similar" wouldn't pass the laugh test.
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This Is Silly
I just did the math. I'm in the sweet spot for this, I suppose -- I have an 80 mile round-trip commute every day, for a total of about 400 miles a week, and my car gets 21.8MPG. This means on a weekly basis, I use 18.35 gallons of tax. At around $4/G (bay area, California), this means I spend $73.40/week on gas. And at $.184/G savings, this means I'd save $3.38/week -- or about 5%. Of course, if we were to use IRS mileage rates -- $.505/mile -- I'm actually paying about $202/week in gas, wear-and-tear, etc, and I'd still only save $3.38/week -- about 1.6%.
You know what? That's not going to make my life better. At all. I'd really much rather spend this money on infrastructure. And that's assuming that we actually get the $.184/G savings, whereas the author said that a nickel/G would be pretty good -- about $.92/week savings. Why are we still arguing that this would make people's lives so amazingly better?
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Biased and pointless.
Well, you can save people a lot of money by getting rid of taxes all together. Anyone advocating that? What's the difference?
The whole thing sounds like buying votes to me. Address the real issue of energy independence then we can have a discussion.
I'm going to have to agree with some of the other posters, this is looking like a Clinton at all costs kind of site. I'm going to have to think about taking my business elsewhere.
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So we have two typical politicians running?
Between the two typical politicians running on the Democratic side, I'll take the one who panders openly and not the one who panders on the same issue in the state senate and then lies about not being a panderer.
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This ranks up there in scholarship...
... just a little higher than a letter to the editor in our local rag that basically said "let's just pump more oil at home -- that'll solve our foreign oil problem!"
Salon - I expect more from your writers. It's nice to have the background on Obama's past Illinois votes. But I'll pass on a tax cut that only made 60% back when it was cut at the pump 8 years ago (before bridges started falling down). What I really wish was that the legislators in my state had the balls to tie our state gas tax to cost-of-living increases instead of watching it wither a little more each year.
Obama may not be the next messiah. But when given a choice between Mr.-Straight-Talk-Turned-Flip-Flopper and Ms.-Pander-To-The-Winds, I'll take "none of the above".
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Yeah, buy more gas, great idea!
Wow, what a genius. At a time when we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars fighting a war, this guy supports an idea that he thinks will help people buy more mid-east oil... which supports the people we're fighting against.
Even if abolishing the gas tax would "work" (i.e. lower prices at the pump), it's a horrible idea. INCREASING the gas tax is a much better idea. Anything to get us to burn less gas. If Bush had cared at all about fighting terrorism he would have doubled CAFE standards and poured money into making cars more fuel efficient, instead of wasting it all in Iraq. What a tragedy this presidency has been, for us and the entire world.
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Not much of a paper
This "scientific study" is an unreviewed, interim "working paper" that is little more meaningful than somebody's blog post.
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Where 80 % of us work
A person who submitted a piece of work like this would be fired.
If you cannot see the difference between a point of purchase state tax and the gas tax that the manufacurer pays, then you are hopeless. You just do not have the knowledge base to be writing this piece.
Look at the price of oil now, why it prices the way it does, and the weak dollar.
And you continue to lie and pretend that a windfall profit tax can be enacted. The premise is false.
You embarass yourslf by submittig this article, and Salon shames itself by publishing it.
You need to go back to school and learn something about economics.
I cannot believe you handed this in. This would get an F in any Macro Econ 101 class in America.