Michael Braun's Blog

Update 4/30/2008, 0826: Hillary Clinton also supports the gas tax vacation. I guess bad ideas are not always on the right side of the aisle.

Gas prices are higher than ever! And it hurts me to fill up the small tank in my fuel-efficient Civic and have to spend almost $40! But it makes me drive less, simply by making me think twice about where I’m going. That means that a trip to Chicago to see friends, or to Mishicot or La Crosse to see parents, is much less appealing. My daily driving habits don’t change much, but mostly because they can’t! I need to commute to work.

Gas prices are expected to peak around Memorial Day and remain high thru summer. This is sure to put a kink in some people’s summer travel plans. John McCain has thus proposed we have a tax-vacation, temporarily suspending the federal gas tax for the summer months. This would surely encourage people to travel, as the price of gas would be likely to drop. But the cost of this initiative is too high for us to see any gains!

Here are my reasons why the gas tax should not be suspended (and why it should be raised).

1. Encourage local tourism. Believe it or not, there are tourist attractions all around you. To you, they may be old hat, who cares. But to people far away, they are worth seeing! In Madison, we’ve got the UW Campus, State St., and the Capital (to name just a few). In Algoma, WI, there’s Shanty Days, our red lighthouse, a beautiful beach, and charter fishing. Think of a town you know; imagine the tourist possibilities. If gas prices are high, people are more likely to take advantage of those attractions in their own backyards, rather than packing up the car for a long trip. It’s sure to be a boon for local businesses (especially those that don’t get much business from out-of-towners).

2. Lower demand. Gas prices are high right now for several reasons. The dollar is weak, the supply frequently disrupted, the market volatile and panicky. But demand on oil resources has never been higher! If we waive the gas tax, it will encourage people to drive more, thus potentially eliminating the drop in price. Gas will be (at best) slightly less expensive, and the government will lose a much-needed revenue source. We’ve got a deficit going on, McCain, in case you weren’t aware of that.

3. Get people thinking realistically. Oil is not going to be around forever. There’s a very finite supply, and we’re burning thru it rapidly. Keeping prices higher will keep people’s heads and hopes in check. We need real solutions – renewable fuel, hybrid cars, aggressive mileage standards – not tax cuts. Attempting to stimulate the economy will not produce more oil; that’s the long-term problem here. Plus, are we prepared for gas prices to take a hike come September? That would hurt more than filling up does right now.

McCain is a danger, and he must be defeated in November. His ideas center around old school conservative ideas: if you cut taxes, things get better. You can take my money all you want (take more, even), as long as you stop wasting it on useless, unjust wars; social programs that support religion; tax incentives for businesses that send jobs overseas; and tax cuts for the wealthy. Unfortunately, McCain has come out strongly in favor of all these programs, despite his “maverick” ways.

You’re a sheep in wolf’s clothing, McCain. You act the maverick while staying right inside the lines of your party’s outdated and regressive policies. If this was 1861, you’d be in favor of slavery, because the word “progressive” is a pejorative to you. You make me sick.