Letters to the Editor
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Obvious??
Because it's estimated it will cost about $9 billion or $10 billion for this gas tax holiday, and many people believe that the oil companies would never fully pass on that savings to the American people?
MCCAIN:Well, first of all, obviously they would have to.
Waitaminute. How is this even approaching "obvious". Let me see if I can follow this through:
Step 1: Gas tax holiday lowers price at the pump by $0.18 per gallon.
Step 2: Lower price drives up demand for gas
Step 3: Higher demand drives up price
Step 4: Profit for the oil companies!
Step 5: Gas tax holiday ends, and the price at the pump is higher than ever.
And, as far as I can tell, there's no good way to make up the revenue shortfall from the tax holiday.
Soooooo... this seems to be a scheme where literally NOTHING good can come of it. Why is this idea even being proposed? Do McCain and Clinton actually think the American people are too stupid to see through such a transparently crass ploy for votes?
Um... wait, I may have just answered my own question there...