Obama Derides Gas Tax 'Gimmick'

[MadBadger]

Obama derides gas tax 'gimmick'


Obama has, in the eyes of editorialists and policy wonks on virtually all sides -- notably, environmentalists and economists -- the high ground on the question of a three-month gas tax holiday, which he opposes and Clinton and McCain support.

"John McCain started –he made the proposal. Then Hillary Clinton said, ‘Me too,'" Obama said just now in Winston-Salem, NC.

"It would last for three months and it would save you, on average, half a tank of gas," he said. "That’s what Senator Clinton and Senator McCain are proposing to deal with the gas crisis. $25 to $30. Half a tank of gas."

"This is the problem with Washington. We are facing a situation where oil prices could hit $200 a barrel. Oil companies like Shell and BP just reported record profits for the quarter. And we're arguing over a gimmick to save you half a tank of gas over the course of the entire summer so that everyone in Washington can pat themselves on the back and say that they did something," he said.

"This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer, it's an idea designed to get them through an election," he said, probably a true statement.

Notably, he also tried to make a personal connection on the issue, nothing that he's the least removed from normal life of the three remaining candidates.

"It hasn’t been that long since I filled up my own gas tank," he said. "I know what it is like to fill up your gas tank and get sticker shock

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Obama_derides_gas_tax_gimmick.html

[stray cat]

1. Its way past time to make cosmetic changes - we need fuel efficiency standards

[Obamanaut]

28. There was a requirement put in place waaay back about the time

of the Ford administration that the auto makers' fleets must meet by the year 1985. This goal was met in large part by adding tiny little cars like the Geo Metro to increase the fleet average.

There has been little if any attention to increasing that long ago goal here in the US since that time.

Britain and Japan, for example, made and met their required goal of more than 40 mpg for the fleet average. And, they make and sell smaller cars.

When the US stops making the behemoths, and mass produces something economical, the cost per gallon won't hurt quite as much.

I don't recall the exact dates for all of the above.

[Bread and Circus]

2. K and R...but what's up with the picture in your Sig, I love the obama image but the text confuses

[MadBadger]

4. citizen_jane made it on Capital Hill

[grannylib]

3. He's so right...it is a gimmick, nothing more. A campaign ploy.

Wonder how the MSM will deal with this little bit of truth.

[DefenseLawyer]

5. He is hitting the right chord here

Not only is it a stupid idea, but it was McCain's idea. Now the question is, will the media force Clinton to defend this harebrained scheme she and John McCain have come up with?

[sunnystarr]

6. MSNBC is reporting that Obama is agreeing with Bush on this

and "wondering" how Dems will view this. It was enough for me to turn off the TV and clean my kitchen.

[NeedleCast]

7. Of Course Hillary is in favor of this right wing policy suggestion

Yeah, at a time when we're already in deficit spending it's a great idea to collect less taxes. The numbers game continues to elude Hillary. Desperation leads to this sort of lip service thinking...that it's more feel good legislation that will, most likely, just make things worse in the long term, but will make a few people out there who are only thinking short term go "wow, that's a great idea!"

Meanwhile, the government has less money and the big oil corporations contiue to reap record profits.

[suston96]

8. Clearly, Obama has not filled up or paid for his own gas lately.......nt

[NoodleyAppendage]

11. Clearly you are an assclown. n/t

J

[cali]

14. look. this stupid pandering proposal would save the average consumer

around $2.50 a week. It would keep funds from highway and bridge projects. Do you honestly know anyone who would be helped by it? I don't and I live in a very poor area where people commonly have to drive quite far to work. I was talking to a guy this morning who was layed off for a month at the mill, and is temporarily working at my friend's nursery, and he thinks it's a joke.

[DefenseLawyer]

20. The oil companies collude to fix the price of gas

We know there isn't any competition controlling the price at the pump. If you lower the price by $.18 a gallon, the oil companies will find some reason to raise their price by $.20 a gallon within a few days. We pay more, they make even more profit and our roads and bridges crumble. It's a crackpot idea, not only because it won't help consumers, it just won't work, period.

[thoughtcrime1984]

17. Clearly, Hillary is taking the politically specious road- again.

Sounds like a great idea to the uninformed. Saves them a very small amount of money, but deprives our infrastructure of needed tax dollars. The "void" that lifting the gas tax would leave, would be filled by more increases in the cost of gas by the petroleum companies. Once again, money to big business at the expense of OUR federal gov't. How about we cease all taxes, and pay the private sector to provide every single service in our lives- unregulated and unchecked, of course. How very Republican.

[mckeown1128]

31. Well he has enough common sense that lowering tax prices by

18 cents for three months isn't the solution.

[cali]

9. It's such a bullshit condescending pandering piece of crap

the gas tax holiday. It wouldn't help consumers. it would hurt them by keeping desperately needed funds from highway and bridge projects.

[EFerrari]

He's right, too. n/t

[durrrty libby]

10. Great siggy. And it finally answers Obama's national question

"Do you smell what Barack is cooking"?

[MadBadger]

13. No, it says that I smell like shit.

[haymakeragain]

16. Smells like. . . . . . . . .

Victory.

[redqueen]

12. $25 to $30. Half a tank of gas. - That's the way to solve problems!

Pander, then hope the voters forget! (With lots of juicy distraction "stories" to help you forget, natch.)

[TheCowsCameHome]

15. It is nothing but pandering to the public during difficult times.

Disgusting.

[redqueen]

18. Pandering.

Maybe voters LIKE it?

:shrug:

[redqueen]

19. Kick for an actual issue.

Remember those? Issues?

[samsingh]

21. it may be a gimmick, but it works. obama has to be smarter on this

mondale spoke truthfully in 84 about the need to raise taxes to contain the debt. reagon said more tax cuts. who did the voters elect?

[Duder]

22. Obama's correct...

The NYT Allows Senator Clinton to Lie to Hard-Hit Middle-Class Families and Older Americans

Senator Clinton joined Senator McCain in calling for the temporary elimination of the 18.4 cent a gallon gas tax over the summer. While the article notes that, "environmentalists and many independent energy analysts" share Senator Obama's view that the elimination of the tax would save consumers little, it still asserts that, "his position allowed Mrs. Clinton to draw a contrast with her opponent in appealing to the hard-hit middle-class families and older Americans who have proven to be the bedrock of her support."

Actually, almost all economists would agree that the tax cut proposed by Senators Clinton and McCain would save consumers nothing. With the supply of gas largely fixed by the capacity of the oil industry (they claim to be running their refineries at full capacity), the price will not change in response to the elimination of the tax. The only difference will be that money that used to go to the government in tax revenues will instead go to the oil industry as higher profits.

If Senator Clinton is able to use this proposal to draw a contrast with Senator Obama in expressing concern for middle-class families it could only be attributable to the extraordinary incompetence of the reporters who are covering the campaign. While typical middle-class families may not have the time and background to realize that Senator Clinton's proposal would not save them any money, reporters do.

The fact that Senator Clinton, like Senator McCain, sought to deceive them with a bogus tax cut should have been the main theme of today's election reporting.

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/beat_the_press_archive?month=04&year=2008&base_name=the_nyt_allows_senator_clinton

[Coexist]

23. .

[Vinca]

24. He's exactly right. Knocking 20 cents off a gallon of gas

for 3 months is like pissing in a snow bank. It amounts to nothing, but is great political pandering to the dimwitted among us. What we need is an "Apollo" project to develop another, inexpensive way to fuel cars and heat homes. We need new technology that would allow us to tell OPEC to keep their damn oil.

[oviedodem]

25. I hate to say this but McCrap and Clinton are playing into the gullibility and the publics lack of

understanding of the complexities of economics. When Obama talks about this on the road you can tell people did not think about it until he explained to them how bad an idea this is in the long term. Once he explained then you saw people nodding like okay I get it.

If McCranky and Clinton get their way, gas will be a solid 4$ during the slow fall season.

[flpoljunkie]

26. Bravo, Senator Obama. Call them both out for their abject pandering!

"This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer, it's an idea designed to get them through an election

[onenote]

27. and if HRC propsed an Iraq "holiday" would her supporters think that was a good idea?

Instead of seeking a lasting solution, what if HRC said that in order to get casualties down from the level they hit in April, we shoud order a one month "Iraq holiday" in which all US forces simply stay indoors and out of harms way for the month.

After that ...back to doing the same old same old.

Would that rock anyone's world?

[BlueIdaho]

29. Truth To Power

And an end to politics as usual. Rock on! Obama is now taking the narrative away from HRC. GoBama Go!

[RichardRay]

30. IT WON'T LOWER THE PRICE OF GAS!!

Sorry, I don't like to shout, but it won't. The price will go down, demand will go up, supply can't increase, the price will go back to market and the only difference will be that the money that would have gone into the highway fund for desperately needed repairs and maintenance will go to the oil companies as additional profits.

The idea is a complete crock, the worst kind of voodoo economics.

Econ 101 shold be taught in high school as a required subject, not in college as an option.