Wednesday, April 30, 2008

SAVE US FROM PANDERERS

Senator John McCain has come up with a wonderful idea. Why doesn’t the government suspend the federal tax on gasoline during the summer when people drive so much more? Senator Hillary Clinton climbed right aboard the gas tax holiday with her buddy John. The Arizona senator would make up for the loss of tax revenue from the general fund, which means it would not be made up. The New York senator would balance the money lost in the tax holiday by putting a windfall tax on the oil companies. This is a proposal that has already come before the senate and rejected.

Barack Obama doesn’t think dropping the tax during the summer months makes much sense, and it could even lead to higher gasoline costs. If people drive more and use more petroleum, the cost of gasoline could go up even further, negating the effect of the dropped tax. Furthermore, the tax money now goes for highway maintenance. The loss of funding for that would lead to a loss of thousands of construction jobs, just when we need to create jobs.

How much would the average family save if the gas tax is suspended from Memorial Day to Labor Day? According to a CNN article the average family would save about $2.35 every time they fill their tank. Congressional analysts,however, say that that means the average family would save about $30 over the summer. Well, whoop-te-do! I can see families sitting around discussing what they’re going to do with all that money.

Unfortunately, people will not see the false promise of McCain/Clinton scheme. Pretending to give something to everyday people, their plans will just drive up the price of gasoline, negating the “savings” which the two senators offer. They’ll repeat the false charges that Senator Obama is “out of touch” with common people, and they’ll go to the polls and vote for the panderers.

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