What exactly do these knee-jerk antitax advocates think taxes are used for? The federal gas tax is used almost exclusively to fund road and transit infrastructure projects. Planning, engineering and constructing these projects keeps hundreds of thousands of people employed, in both the public sector and private sector. Cut off this source of funding and every state DOT and all of their contractors will be forced into massive layoffs. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has estimated it could cost 300,000 jobs. And at what cost? So the average American driver can keep a measly $28 in their pocket.

Seriously, can we take all these people who can't understand that taxes are a necessary evil and put them in a big walled-in compound somewhere on the Great Plains? Let them be self-centered and myopic by keeping every penny of their "hard earned" money. This means that every public service and infrastructure project be accomplished entirely through donations or volunteerism. I give their utopia approximately 48 hours before it starts resembling something out of Lord of the Flies.

BTW, we had a state gas tax holiday here in Georgia when prices spiked after Hurricane Katrina. The end result? No discernible change in prices and the forced postponement of dozens of transportation projects due to the revenue shortfall.

Not only is the roll-back of the gasoline tax stupid economically, it is stupid politically too. McCain, who has the nomination sewn up, knows he will be running in the general election. His idea is for a roll-back in the tax during the summer, meaning the roll-back will expire in the fall, i.e. during the campaign, giving the voters another reason to be angry at the Republicans. They won't remember the fact that the tax was rescinded during the summer, remembering only that it went up just before the election season.

it will have to be made permanent or it will be raising taxes, won't it? What a numbskull.

I'm not a buyer of the 'long run consumption' boost argument for a six month tax. That's a stretch, and what's more, an entirely unnecessary one. And why go there when there is a veritable cornucopia of arguments to choose from that demonstrate how cataclysmically poor this policy proposal is.

1) It is temporary, and therefore its raison d'etre can only be seen as a counter-cyclical 'stimulus' package. So it does not address any of the long-term issues facing this economy, to say nothing of the policies, (or more to the point, lack thereof), that have found us at this precipice.

2) It is woefully poor bang for the buck as stimulus. A significant chunk of the economic activity supported by gasoline consumption is offshore, meaning much of it will flow straight through the consumer to petroleum exporting countries without stimulating demand at home, boosting our petroleum trade deficit which is nearly half our total trade deficit at this point (!!!!).

3) "Global imbalances', i.e. the trade deficit have huge negative externalities. That point is broadly recognized- everyone sees these as massive impediments to global macroeconomic stability- but the nuances of it are not. In fact, if you look at the size of consumer debt growth and compare it to the current account/trade deficits, you will see a high correlation. This is a big subject, but, suffice it to say, this is a very bad consequence of a remarkably bad policy.

4) Increasing revenues to oil producing/terrorist sponsoring countries has negative externalities. This is what Tom Friedman and- to my recollection anyway- one John McCain has dubbed, 'bankrolling both sides in the 'War on Terror'. Indeed.

5) Gasoline consumption itself has huge negative externalities, of which CO2 emissions may be the greatest, but are certainly not the only. In fact, it is pretty easy to show that the level of gasoline consumption in this country is sub-optimal (i.e. reduces public welfare), already! So this policy will take sub-optimally high gas consumption and make it higher. Bravo John McCain.

All of that against the only positive I an think of:

1) The tax cut is progressive.

So, in other words, being generous and not calling a spade a spade, (i.e. seeing this as the obvious political ploy that it is- i.e. the 'straight shooter's shameless pandering for votes), this is some pretty righteous turd of a policy.

If anything, we should double the gas tax to help fund mass transit and alternative fuel R&D.

Gas isn't expensive because of federal or local taxes, which haven't increased all that much over the last 10 years or so. Gas is expensive because demand keeps rising. If McCain really wanted to be a "maverick" he'd explain this to the American public and make conservation and alternative energy development a major plank of his campaign.

McCain has no idea what the problem is and less of an idea of how to fix it. The only bad part is that the slugfest going down in Philly tonight between the Dems will eclipse any major fumbles by McCain. I'm staggered by the free passes McCain is getting lately. This primary should end just so we can turn some of that harsh glare on him. These are golden opportunities here people and McCain is fumbling badly.

You wave the flag, but waive taxes.

...and the $35 or so you'll "save" in taxes over the summer will jump-start the economy?

The Federal gas tax supports road maintenance for the highway system. I don't how it is where you live, but I see potholes, cracks, crumbling bridges everywhere I drive. Are we just going to put off fixing this infrastructure and dump it on the next generations - just like paying for the Bu$hco tax cuts and Iraq War?

If McLame was getting economic advice from a graduate of Econ 101A, he could have avoided making this idiotic proposal. It's not one of those concepts that requires a blackboard full of arcane symbols to explain, fer chrissakes. But once again, we'll see the press, for the most part, giving him a pass; there's nothing the Big Money Guys like better than a preznit who don't unnerstan' shee-yit.