By Mike

May 6, 2008 3:30 PM | Link to this

Well, the sense that I get from reading a variety of sources is that the idea is almost universally viewed as a political gimmick which will have no impact on the larger problem of oil dependence. The oil companies will actually make more money because it is likely that, even with the tax suspended, the price per gallon of gasoline will stay unchanged. The tax would simply take money away from infrastructure repair which is already severely underfunded as it is. I did a little figuring for myself and found that if this “holiday” was implemented for the summer it would put approximately forty dollars in my pocket. If the politicians are so hell bent on believing that an extra forty dollars in our pockets will make such a huge difference in the economy, then why don’t they just send me the forty bucks? Hey, I’ll get a partial fill-up. It’s just another “stimulus rebate”. Call it what it is-political pandering. And it’s also a dumb move politically because you promise people something and then when it happens people realize that you really haven’t given them anything at all. It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul. Weak-willed politicians using smoke and mirrors to distract us from the elephant in the room, our junkie-like dependence on finite resources. Why won’t our elected leaders do what is expected-LEAD!! Forget the gimmicks!