Explain This One To Me
Why is Clinton dismissing the views of economists? You know, the people who actually have education and experience in that area?
Does she have a degree in that field? Or does she have superpowers that tell her that every economist is wrong to say that her gas tax thing is crap?
Why does this sound so much like Bush dismissing the advice of military officials that aren't sitting in his lap?
I am so sick of this.
BONUS UPDATE: This made me laugh, then cry, realizing the tragedy of the truth behind it.
Does she have a degree in that field? Or does she have superpowers that tell her that every economist is wrong to say that her gas tax thing is crap?
Why does this sound so much like Bush dismissing the advice of military officials that aren't sitting in his lap?
I am so sick of this.
BONUS UPDATE: This made me laugh, then cry, realizing the tragedy of the truth behind it.
by MG at 8:15 AM
6 Comments:
HI, Moxie:
I'd like to try to answer your question:
Oddly enough, the gas tax "holiday" worked well when it was tried in the past - this, contrary to economic "theorists".
"the only scientific study done on the pass-through of the tax holiday savings to Illinois consumers (and those in Indiana, as well, whose citizens enjoyed a similar holiday) found that it actually worked to a large extent.
The study is titled "$2.00 Gas! Studying the Effects of a Gas Tax Moratorium," by Joseph J. Doyle Jr. and Krislert Samphantharak. Download the PDF here. The authors concluded that "the suspension of the 5% sales tax led to decreases in retail prices of 3% compared to neighboring states. And when the tax was reinstated, retail prices rose by roughly 4%."
This suggests that the tax holiday delivered at least 60 percent of the tax savings to motorists.http://tinyurl.com/4fj9an
I'd pay more attention to Reality, than theory any day. Barack Obama seems to have thought the same in the past.
"CBS News says Obama voted for the temporary lifting of the tax three times in the state Senate. The tax holiday was finally approved during a special session in June of 2000, when Illinois motorists were furious that gas prices had just topped $2 a gallon in Chicago. The moratorium lifted the state's 5 percent sales tax on gasoline through the end of 2000.
Obama told constituents that gasoline prices would drop: "Gas retailers must post on each pump a statement that indicates that the state tax has been suspended and that this temporary elimination of the tax should be reflected in the price per gallon of gas."
During one state Senate floor debate, Obama joked that he wanted signs on gas pumps in his district to say, "Senator Obama reduced your gasoline prices."
Now, running for president, Obama says the tax reduction was a complete failure, and that "the oil companies, the retailers" ended up benefiting most because they raised prices by the entire amount of the tax cut." (Same source)
Gaia, thanks for that, it does offer a bit more to the idea. However, perhaps its me and I'm already distracted by my kid about to walk in the door, but I believe I read that Obama wasn't happy with the end result of the tax holiday? I would need to research that a bit more.
Also, I wonder if 18.4 cents will do any good when the price keeps climbing. If gas overall has jumped 15 cents in the last two weeks, what's to keep oil companies from simply raising their prices further?
Wouldn't time, effort, energy, and money be better spent on creating alternative fuels, attaching restrictions to oil companies that gouge consumers due to no oversight, and imposing greater fuel efficiency on vehicle manufacturers?
Moxie,
in a perfect world, I agree that the time and effort might be better spent on the things you've suggested. But in the here and now, we are facing a melt-down of summer seasonal industries that rely on people being able to travel by car. Such would suggest rather immediate steps be taken to ameliorate the problem - like a gas tax holiday, which has been proven to work.
Something else to consider: If no gas holiday is in the offering, consumers will likely be hit harder by increases in the cost of transporting fresh produce (and, indeed, all food) to market during summer months. Truckers will see to that, as they pass their increased fuel costs on to the public. While savings from the holiday will only amount to about $30-$40 for the average driver, all truckers will save substantially more, holding down rising costs to businesses and industries that rely on them, and which must pass on any increases in transportation cost to consumers.
As a sidenote, I should mention that, contrary to accusations that Hillary's plan would punish states by shorting the country's infrastructure funds by $126 million: such is simply not true. Her plan also calls for passing the cost of the lost revenue on to the oil industry, itself, in the form of a profits tax. (If the legislation gets that far, I'm sure there will be a clause preventing these same companies from passing the tax on to consumers.)
But my point is that what is to stop the oil companies from deciding to change the price from $3.50 to $3.75? Whether there is a tax holiday or not, the truth of the matter is that oil companies have been allowed to charge whatever they want, and if there is a tax holiday imposed, what would stop them from simply saying to themselves, "Well they were used to paying $3.50, now they get a break of $.18, so lets just say our costs went up so where they would have paid $3.32, we bump them up to $3.42. PROFIT!"
I actually think this is a totally moot point, because by the time anyone can organize this and make sure all the loopholes are closed and the bad guys lose and the good guys win, the summer will be over.
And, by the way, they won't be able to stop the oil companies from making their profits because the Bush Administration is still in the White House. There is plenty of opportunity for stalling and forcing us through the long hot summer.
Unfortunately, this is just a way for all the politicians to get their names in the news. It won't help Average Joe in the least.
I would agree, the posturing being done won't help the Average Joe. Nor will it help the Average Jane - who usually bears the brunt of managing the household budget.
But, contrary to what's being said, Hillary's plan would be a benefit to both, as it taxes ~profits~. Such a tax could easily be structured to discourage a rise in price.
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