What I can buy for $36.80

[busymom]

The gas tax holiday is supposed to offer a reduction of 18.4 cents/gallon of gas.

Currently, I have a vehicle that holds 20 gallons. I have to refuel every 3 (gasp!) days because of the amount of driving I have to do right now. (The increase in gas prices have really hurt our family!)

Let's get this straight:

.184 * 20 gallons = $3.68/tank saved. Over the course of one month, that is saving me somwhere around $36.80 give or take a little depending on how often I have to refill my tank.

What can I buy for $36.80? A month of school lunches or a pair of shoes for my teen-ager (who needs a new pair) or it can help even out my ever-increasing grocery bill. It seems like everything is getting more expensive.

Man...if I save up that money for the summer, I would have a little over $100.


Now...whether or not it is a wise idea (because we need the tax dollars to fix roads etc) is debatable. Maybe we could get our politicians to quit building bridges to nowhere or multi-million dollar intersections in the middle of the wilderness to help out their developer friends and that would help?

We should be able to open a discussion about this witout immediately yelling back and forth.

Did all of you who are opposed to this also send your tax rebate checks right back to the government?

[AllentownJake]

1. Maybe

You should ask her candidate if your concerned about Pork about her 2.3 billion dollars in Ear Mark request for 2008?

Just Saying :shrug:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. your vote?

on the other hand, multiply that $36.80 by 150,000,000 drivers and vehicle operators, and guess what? No more highway construction, causing the loss of 300,000 jobs, higher repair bills for roads and bridges, AND many more destroyed cars. Oh, yes, and minnesota styled bridge collapses, just for fun.

[Saturday]

7. And those 150,000,000 drivers will spend their savings somewhere.

It's a stimulus. They might be buying shoes like the OP said.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

14. This is such an important vote.

and she is so willing to pander logic and rational ideas away.

I am actually worried for the fate of our country.

[Kittycat]

26. Imagine that construction at the 88/290/294 interchange coming to a screeching halt.

Yeah - great plan :crazy:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

you mean, they are actually progressing?

I see a lot of people standing around with hard hats. which makes sense when you pour concrete.

[Kittycat]

109. From my perspective - yes.

I don't drive that way on a regular basis anymore. But they have made tremendous progress, IMO, over the past couple of years. I really like the new open tolling lanes - things seem quite a bit faster to me. Now it's after you get past that, the nightmare begins. And that is during off peak, I can't imagine peak hours. People have to be insane to drive up there, and not take the trains.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

111. when I have to go to court in wheeeeton,

there is no other way there from my location.

[Kittycat]

112. That stinks.

[Rabrrrrrr]

27. Gee, a stimulus while we celebrate the decay of our infrastructure. How asinine.

How much is a bridge worth?

Is it worth giving people a paltry, irrelevant amount of money to pander for votes? A savings which, more than likely, the consumers will never see anyway?

I don't think so.

I'd rather have roads and bridges that are repaired and safe.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

don't ignore 300,000 families without a bread earner.

that is not small potatoes either.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

88. don't ignore 300,000 families without a bread earner.

that is not small potatoes either.

[Rabrrrrrr]

93. Okay, then - so say 300,000 families could use an extra $3.50 a week.

Why not - instead of handing out $3.50 a week to 200,000,000 people - offer those 300,000 a tax rebate at the end of the year on their income tax?

That makes much more sense to me than letting trillions of dollars' worth of needed repairs and inspections go to hell.

Is 300,000 peoples' extra $3.50 a week really worth trashing our road system for?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

96. 300,000 are the number of highway and bridge

construction/repair/maintenance employees who will lose their jobs.

take a look at this:
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/6919

[Rabrrrrrr]

98. Oh, gotcha! You didn't say it was construction workers,

so I assumed you meant the 300,000 who could use an extra few bucks a week in no gas tax.

Good point! All those tax loss would put a lot of road people out of work.

Of course, after half a year of not fixing shit, we'll need even more construction workers than we had before, so maybe this is a good thing.

:crazy:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

104. my bad. On the other hand

all those tire, brake, and alignment jobs would really pick up some sectors of our economy.

[whistle]

3. You use 200 gallons of gasoline per month? What are you driving and where do you

...go?

[Renew Deal]

8. She's one of the Truckers for Hillary

honk honk

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. Better yet, the oil companies would have to pony up all those $36

from everybody.

[anigbrowl]

25. And that is going to be enforced how?

With oil hitting $120/barrel yesterday, it's not going to be hard for them to say 'market forces!' and just jack the price again.

[Kittycat]

29. It's not. And it will also drive consumption up higher.

[The_Casual_Observer]

33. Like anything else.

[mahina]

5. You can pay for part of an alignment, or two tire repairs,

or 10% on the new shocks you're going to need. But you better not, because you'll just need to fix them again anyway with all the potholes and deferred maintenance on the roads caused by short term savings and long terms costs of this idiot idea.

Better get the sneakers.

Whoop it up baby!

[Epiphany4z]

6. when would the

summer gas tax begin? it is nearly summer..has anyone started the ball rolling?

and would we really save ...people would use more ..this usually means the price goes up..big oil would maybe fill in the .18 cent drop and would they back off after the vacation or would prices stay up plus the gas tax comes back?

This was tried in Obamas home state before and it didn't do so well..which is why he is not for it this time.

[onenote]

9. wow. you drive 4000 miles a month? Four times the national average

And that's assuming you have a gas guzzler that gets only 20 mpg. (20 galls/10 times a month = 200 gallons @ 20 mpg = 4000 miles of driving a month.

Of course, you're assuming that the entire .184 per gallon tax reduction will be passed through to you in its entirety.

[malik flavors]

10. WIll you people get it through your heads that it's not about the $30 it's the fact this won't pass.

She knows this won't pass, it's a completely empty promise. It doesn't matter how mudh you WOULD save if it passed, because it WON'T pass.

Get over it. She's just introducing this to get votes and you know it. It doesn't mean you shouldn't support her, but stop trying to act like this is a legit proposal. She's playing politics, and it's not a secret.

[Erin Elizabeth]

30. THANK YOU.

Egads. Why discuss something that ISN'T going to happen? No way, no how, and Clinton knows it. It's ridiculous and insulting to everyone with enough brain cells to figure out how empty it is.

[2rth2pwr]

40. Why are you discussing it?

[NeedleCast]

51. Because if we don't discuss it

ignorant people like yourself will just run around telling everyone what a super idea it is.

[Erin Elizabeth]

61. It's a shiny thing!

Look, are those quarters on the ground by the gas pump!

SHINY!

:crazy:

[2rth2pwr]

114. I see. "Let me talk, and all of you ignoramuses shut the hell up!" Got it.

[lastliberalintexas]

39. And will you get it through your head that it doesn't matter

I personally almost prefer it to fail, because for it to fail one of two things must happen- either a) the repubs filibuster it in the Senate and therefore give us fabulous campaign material for the fall or else b) Bush vetoes it and gives us fabulous campaign material for the fall.

The Art of War, my friend. It's about time our party started playing politics, the powder has been dry for too long.

[Erin Elizabeth]

43. So you'd like Congress to spend time on

something everyone knows is going to fail anyway.

So that Clinton, who can't get the nomination, can get a few more votes from people who don't know or don't care that it won't work.

How is it going to be fodder for the GE when Obama, who will be the nom, wasn't for it, either?

[lastliberalintexas]

44. Yeah, because Congress is currently so hard at work

I mean, for them to discuss the gas tax holiday and windfall profits tax proposal, it might pull them away from the steroids in baseball hearings. :eyes:

[Erin Elizabeth]

47. Well, hell, I don't agree with the steroids in baseball

hearings EITHER. That doesn't mean I think we should pile on even MORE worthless crap that isn't going to pass anyway.

[lastliberalintexas]

52. Would you address my argument though?

I've not had a single poster who opposes this holiday proposal address the campaign realities of which I speak. Do you not agree that this would give us great fodder for the fall? (how's that for aliterarion?) :)

[Erin Elizabeth]

Actually, I have addressed that.

Seeing as Obama is going to be the one running against McCain and Obama has gone on record as being OPPOSED to this idea for many reasons, I don't see how you think he's going to use Republicans voting against it in the GE as political fodder. If it does go to the Senate, HE will most likely vote against it. And rightly so, IMO.

So how's that going to work?

[lastliberalintexas]

63. Obama supports the windfall profits tax

which is the most important part of this proposal. It's really the only part that would do anything about the price of gas at all, and he supports it.

I think he would also be able to use those campaign ads against the republicans, filibustering a profits tax on behalf of Big Oil. Yep, I think Obama would be happy to run that kind of ad.

[malik flavors]

55. One problem: There isn't a single democrat that's for it either.

And how about the fact John McCain has his own proposal the democrats would filibuster?

Now both sides are even and we're stuck with lying politicians trying to lie better than the other one. How about we nominate someone that can call them out on bullshit like this.

If you enjoy these pointless games, more power to you, but this is the stuff that turns me off from politics. I just want someone that will get stuff done, not a bunch of game players.

Maybe i'm naive, but that's just my opinion.

[Erin Elizabeth]

60. Dear God, what a great post.

Exactly. I'm so sick of the fucking games. Just GET REAL SHIT DONE.

Just one of the many reasons I became an Obama supporter. When he spoke about this issue on MTP Sunday morning, I couldn't have agreed more. He DID support this very same kind of thing once in the Illinois senate. And it didn't work. He saw that. He saw all the pitfalls and problems, and they are many.

I like a candidate who actually says, yeah we tried this once and I was for it and here are the problems with it and why I'm not going to support it again: problem a, b, c, d.....

[lastliberalintexas]

72. Sorry, but that is naive

It's also why we keep losing. If you haven't noticed lately, the American people, god love em, are pretty stupid. You have to play these kinds of games in the system we have. The republicans do all the time, and that's one of the things that help them win elections (After all, tell me again why abortion wasn't criminalized during those 4 years that they controlled the government? Game playing, perhaps?). In our system, only the end result matters, and the fact that our principled people do not want to get their hands dirty is actually a shortcoming.


Want to refirm the system? Great, I'm right there with you and I'd be in favor of a parliamentary system which would allow Socialists like myself to actually vote for leftist candidates for a change. Until then, you have to work within the admittedly crappy system we have.

[DMorgan]

82. So you want to waste more of the time of congress, why again?

You want to play pointless mindless games with funny money proposals because you want to advance what?

Game playing Clinton and McCain, and Mitt (double the size of GTMO) Romney, and George W. (WMD) Bush.... you want MORE of this crap?

[lastliberalintexas]

90. Nope, that's not what I meant

But I'm done with this issue. I'm not even a Clinton supporter, but you just can't discuss issues very much on this board anymore. People are too entrenched in their own candidate to discuss things or even to consider that there might be some merit to a proposal from the other camp.


Just as I never thought I'd see the day that any Dem would defend a statement like Clinton's on Iran, I also never thought I'd see the day when Dems would argue against a windfall profits tax (which actually both candidates support, but Obama supporters here keep saying it's fruitless to try because it wouldn't pass or just be passed on to consumer). Just proves I am getting old.

[scheming daemons]

11. YOU WOULD NEVER SEE A PENNY OF THAT $36.80

Every time a "gas tax holiday" has been tried, the oil companies and retailers simply raised their prices by the amount of the tax.

We, the consumers, saw NO benefit.

You would see absolutely NOTHING.



That's what you don't get.



THINK!

[Erin Elizabeth]

21. It wouldn't pass Congress anyway.

And bush wouldn't approve it anyway.

And on and on and on. It's not going to happen, you're right.

[MonkeyFunk]

12. If anybody besides Clinton

had proposed this plan, it would be very popular here.

But this primary season has made this board nuts. DUers opposing a windfall profits tax on oil companies - unbelievable.

[scheming daemons]

16. Um... no.... McCain proposed it. Bill Clinton OPPOSED THE IDEA when he was President....

It's a bad idea.


Or was Bill wrong in 2000?

[MonkeyFunk]

34. McCain doesn't

pay for his plan with a windfall profits tax.

I'm sure you knew that, but yet you still lied about it. Huh.

[scheming daemons]

46. No.... that makes the oil companies raise the prices EVEN HIGHER!

Do you REALLY think that oil companies will simply "accept" a windfall tax?

They will pass that cost along to the consumers.... us!


A windfall tax will raise the prices even MORE.



Sheesh... some Clinton supporters need to take Economics 101. You have no clue how capitalism works.

[MonkeyFunk]

68. There are ways

to prevent the companies from passing the cost on. I haven't heard anybody discuss them, but it's possible. You can impose a 100% tax on profits over and above the amount they would have made if they paid the tax themselves.

Your position argues against ANY taxation of oil companies.

[scheming daemons]

81. If "there are ways".... why aren't they in Hillary's proposal? Remember...we're discussing HER

proposal.

And HER proposal doesn't stop the oil companies from passing those costs onto consumers.

[MonkeyFunk]

84. So you're still arguing

against any taxation of oil companies.

[Zodiak]

36. Better yet, Clinton raised that tax 4.3 cents

And the oil companies lowered their prices as a result.

What you pay for gas is what the oil companies think you are willing to pay. The price of oil is not tied entirely to supply....it is tied to demand.

[Kittycat]

35. No. I rolled my eyes when McCain proposed, and LOL when HRC backed him up.

It only takes common sense to know what a moronic idea this is.

[MonkeyFunk]

42. What's wrong with

transferring costs from consumers to oil companies? I really honestly believe that the opposition to the plan here is largely based on who supports it and who opposes it, not the plan itself.

Even if the plan has no chance of passing, it's a perfect political weapon to use against Republicans. Democrats should ALL support a windfall profits tax on oil companies.

[Erin Elizabeth]

45. How's that going to work?

Obama will be the nominee. He's gone on record as saying this is a bad idea. So in the GE, how could he use that as a political weapon when the Republicans vote against it? HE would vote against it, and I say yay to that.

[MonkeyFunk]

70. It's too bad

he's made the political calculation to dismiss this idea completely. But, to answer your questions:

Obama is not yet the nominee, but that's irrelevant. The discussion is about doing it NOW, not next year.

[Erin Elizabeth]

89. Yeah, and the NOW part is a very big part of why it's

not going to happen. Among other reasons.

I said Obama is GOING TO BE the nominee. So it doesn't make any sense at all to force Congress to waste yet more time on something that's not going to pass for political fodder that the nominee is not going to be able to use in the GE.

[scheming daemons]

48. Nothing is wrong with the idea of "transferring costs from consumers to oil companies"... except...

that Hillary's proposal wouldn't accomplish that.


Oil companies would pass the costs to the consumers... in the form of higher prioes.


Econ 101.

[MonkeyFunk]

73. And that argument

can be used to oppose ANY taxation of oil companies.

If you can't think of a way to make sure they pay it, you're just not very imaginative.

[Rabrrrrrr]

56. OMG, do you seriously think you can transfer costs from consumers to companies?

without the companies making sure they get their share back from the consumers?

:rofl:

[MonkeyFunk]

74. Laugh all you want

but you really couldn't come up with any way to make sure they pay it? If not, you're effectively arguing against ANY taxation of oil companies - of any corporation, for that matter.

You're taking a conservative position, but don't realize it.

And why can't we discuss this without the condescending smileys?

[Rabrrrrrr]

83. It's not a conservative position, it's an *informed* and *intelligent* position.

And I use the smilies because when it comes to economics, I can't help but laugh my ass off at people who seem to think that money is just magically generated by the money fairy and that corporations aren't out to make a profit.

I'd like to think that you are misguided because perhaps the only book on economics you've ever read is a few pages of the Communist Manifesto, but your complete trust that a corporation would never charge consumers more if they were suddenly taxed more makes me wonder - judging by your avatar, you should have an irrational hatred and fear, and a rational mistrust, of corporations.

:shrug:

Anyway, it all makes me laugh my ass off because it is soooooooooo far from reality. It's like those people who claim that evolutionary biology is a conspiracy by gay atheists.

This country's failure to educate in basic math is exceeded only by its failure in teaching basic economics.

[MonkeyFunk]

87. You're not making much sense

if you believe there's no way at all to prevent the companies from passing the cost onto consumers, then you're also arguing against ALL taxation of oil companies.

The rest of your post is just stupid supposition about my views.

[Kittycat]

106. Please, you are smarter than this.

In order to go after the windfall profits, you have to set a cap on how much they can sell the product for. Without that, the sky is the limit. And they WILL pass on the cost in two forms...

One because they're not going to get stuck with it - so see it rise quickly - just as gas rose 40cents here in 3 days - they can and will get their 18.9cents back in a hurry.

Second because it will increase consumption. The ONLY good thing coming out of these high prices right now is that it's causing people to consume less, and think of alternative transportation options - like carpooling, public transportation, bikes, walking, etc. Now, we all know what happens when consumption rises - prices increase to meet the demand. And the price is passed on to the consumer.

ETA: And there is an issue with setting a cap - because then the gas companies will create a false picture of demand by rationing gas, to get the price inflated through congress. Basically holding us hostage at the pump.

And there you have it... Basic Economics.

[MonkeyFunk]

110. So you, too, in effect

are arguing against any taxation on oil companies.

And no, it wouldn't require setting a cap on prices. There are other ways, using taxation of profits to discourage such behavior.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

91. a majority of Ds in congress could not even repeal the damned

tax breaks for big oil.

You REALLY think that with their lobbying clout, they would allow a new tax to be passed from these congresscritters and senate-whores?

[DMorgan]

86. Either you fail to understand how government works or you

just grab onto HALF an idea.

Democrats are NOT against adjustments to oil industry taxing plans, (windfall profits, whatever you want to call it).

But there's a Man in the White House named George, he's gonna veto that until Jan 20 2009. So why waste time with this now?

You really MUST understand, and are just kidding around, right?

[thoughtcrime1984]

105. Nobody would oppose a windfall tax, they just don't believe it would happen

We'd get our little "holiday", consumption would increase, big oil would raise prices to fill the "void" left by the temporary repeal of the gas tax, and then nothing else would happen. Our infrastructure would suffer even more than it already is, and the corporate bastards would become even richer. If this windfall tax were put in place first, then there'd possibly be less opposition to lowering the gas tax.

[LSK]

13. thanks for helping out on Global Warming

The planet thanks you.

:eyes:

[Erin Elizabeth]

15. Have you ever figured out how much you spend on gas

per year at current costs?

And what percentage of that yearly cost $36.80 is?

It looks like you're filling up your vehicle 120 times a year (every three days). With a 20 gallon tank and let's say $3.70 a gallon, you spend $74 everytime you fill up.

$74 times 120 times per year is a yearly gas cost of $8880.

Yep, that's over eight grand a year (nearly nine, actually) you are spending on gas. And you're excited about $36.80? That's not even ONE PERCENT of your yearly gas cost. It's not even HALF a percent of your yearly gas cost.

In fact (drum roll, please), it's about a third of one percent.

Not only that, but this ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN and Clinton knows it. She's talking about THIS summer. So people are actually getting excited about getting less than 1% of their annual gas costs back in their pocket (WAIT! That's IF the oil companies don't just raise prices to make up the difference and by the way, have you seen the price of a barrel of oil today? Another record) when it's something that's not even going to happen anyway.

Why debate what it'll buy you? You're not getting it. No one is.

[nomorewhopper]

17. The gas tax holiday is a terrible idea....read

the gas tax holiday may give extra cash in your wallet at the end of the month. But there a million better ways to do this besides passing a bill that would:

1) put profits in the hands of big oil.
2) put profits in the hands of the Saudis. (a gas tax holiday is a government sanctioned "sale" on the price of gasoline)
3) increase our debt to china.
4) sell out the environment
5) put upward pressure on gas prices due to increased demand.

I'll give you all of the above for $30/month....

...if you vote for me.

Selling out your country to the Saudis and Chinese so you can spend more money on oil. Sickening. It's a bad idea and its only purpose is to buy votes. Please think about it.

[nichomachus]

18. You're lucky -- I figured I would get $3.24 -- but I would feel sorry for

the more than 300,000 working folks who would lose their jobs due to the shortfall in road repair revenues.

[Kittycat]

19. How about conserving and carpooling?

We rely too heavily on our cars. Pull out the bike and ride to the grocery store. Use public transportation where available, consolidate your trips, etc.

On the carpooling, even if you have to drive part way - say for your Teen to ride share, it's still better than going the entire distance. But if you're that far from school - I bet your district has a bus program anyway. For the rest, work, etc... Rideshare.

[scheming daemons]

20. 4000 miles of driving every month? Wow! You really *ARE* a "busy mom"

[anigbrowl]

32. Yeah 133 miles a day seems like a lot

Maybe it's time to take a different approach to your driving patterns.

[busymom]

80. It's a nightmare...I can't wait

until this school year is over. really.

[DMorgan]

95. So you will NOT be driving that in the SUMMER anyway?

Geesh!

How about you find a better way to drive more efficiently, a more efficient car, a day off a month from school, a summer that keeps you home with your kids in the back yard. How about you car pool 2 days a week? There's a hundred ways for you to save $ starting TOMORROW! ALL by your own ingenuity.

[Andy823]

22. OK, one more time

Do you really think that congress will pass a gas tax holiday? Do you really think they will pass a bill that will pay for such a holiday by taxing big oil companies? Do you really think that Bush would pass any bill that taxed big oil?

Please answer my questions honestly.

[dchill]

23. You may be as vacuous as Hillary is betting you are.

Congrats.

[scheming daemons]

28. Hillary's betting on the intellectual incuriousness of the American voter.....

...tonight we'll see if she's right.

[marlakay]

24. a tiny part of a solid road or bridge that would

save many thousands of lives and on top of that keep the people doing it employed. I feel very good about that. Over the 3 month summer that would be about $12 per month. I am willing to give up 3 cups of Starbucks per month for that and or make homemade cookies for my kids instead of store bought stuff.

Is Obama telling us to send those rebate checks back? no...not fair question for a person saying you want to have a reasonable discussion.

[uponit7771]

31. QUESTION: Do you REALLY believe the oil companies will keep the post tax per gallon price low!?!?!??

[Erin Elizabeth]

37. After thinking about this further, I think

the bigger issue is not some thirty six bucks you aren't going to get. It's all the driving you're doing. Is there any way you could reduce that at all? I'm being totally serious, almost nine grand a year in gas is out of this world. Can you really afford that?

Is there any alternative form of transportation where you live? Do you combine trips? Carpool? Do you have a seriously long commute to work or something? Gas prices aren't going down anytime soon, so I wouldn't bank on that.

[ProSense]

38. Save the nation's infrastructure from Hillary. What can you buy with $1,000

Boost

[NeedleCast]

41. But you're not actually going to see 36.80/Mo

Because

1) (This is the important one) The Gas Tax Holiday is not going to make it through congress and the house, and if it did, it certainly wouldn't survive a veto.

2) As soon as the price for gas goes down, the demand will go back up, and the price will follow suit (supply and demand - I learned it in 9th grade economics).

[baldguy]

49. The McCain/Clinton gas tax holiday is designed to do one thing and only one thing.

Get more cash into the hands of the oil cartel.

[DMorgan]

97. WRONG AGAIN

It is designed to GET VOTES!

[baldguy]

116. I would hope the only people stupid enough to sell the country down the river for $38

to the oil cartel would stupid enough to vote Republican.

Guess not, huh?

[PassingFair]

50. Can you fix a crumbling bridge with it?

Let me know where you get your mortar, and
I'll meet you at the overpass....

[ClassWarrior]

53. What Big Oil can buy with $36.80 X all of us...

NGU.

[4_Legs_Good]

54. I gave my first rebate check away, and offered my 2nd to candidates

If you mean the "stimulus" check going out now, that's a different beast than a "tax rebate" - which should have gone to paying down the national debt.

Man, you're making the same damned arguments all my dittohead co-workers do daily! Doesn't that bother you just a little?

David

[elocs]

57. Does anybody actually believe that it will be the oil companies who will pay the tax?

They will just raise the price per gallon 18 cents and much more (not all at once--that would be too obvious) and claim, "Well, what can we do? You know the price of oil went up, a refinery needs maintenance, there was a hurricane, yada, yada, yada".

There is just one word for this idea during an election year: pandering.

[busymom]

58. PS

I know I spend too much time on the road this year and I hate it. I actually used to ride my bike everywhere years ago. We are in a unique situation this year with 4 children in 4 different schools. I have been spending 4 hours/day or more in my van..and it sucks. That will change soon (and I don't ever plan on having a year like this again) but...there are also people who have to commute far to work who spend as much as I do.

I'm not celebrating my gas spending I guess is what I'm trying to say. Trust me...I mourn the money.

[DMorgan]

59. If you (the OP) learn to re-adjust your life to drive 5% LESS, take buses,

Combine trips, car pool, take a day off to work at home instead of commuting, drive slower.... just FIVE PERCENT LESS MILES PER MONTH...

You would save $36. PER MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 gallons less than 200 is FIVE PERCENT LESS

$36. a month.

Don't wait for Hillary Clinton to deliver, cause it ain't gonna happen this summer.

[Erin Elizabeth]

64. AND she'd have that savings EVERY month.

Not just a few months, every month.

Imagine!

[DMorgan]

66. Yes, forever. OR......

Of course she could also NOT change her driving but get a hybrid vehicle, and double her mileage.

[Erin Elizabeth]

85. Hell, she doesn't even have to get a hybrid.

There are a lot of new models out there that are getting much better gas mileage.

The Toyota Yaris gets 38/40.

There's also the Nissan Versa and the Honda Fit. Even the Toyota Corolla gets 36/38.

[DMorgan]

100. I know, but I was being dramatic and going for the highest

If anyone has to drive their car 4000 miles a month... they really would benefit financially from a hybrid from day one.

There are even USED Hybrids available, and hybrid SUV's if one insists upon a big car.

Me, It'd prefer to car pool a couple times a week rather than buy a new car just to save a few $ in gas.

[busymom]

67. Trust me...I wish I could.

Not everyone has that opportunity. We don't live in a country with a well-planned and executed mass transit system. Our gas spending is terrible this year for a variety of reasons, but it will be different soon. Thank God.

[DMorgan]

103. You can probably get a tax break if your four children

MUST go to these four schools because of a disability and an inability of the local school district to provide free transportation for you. But maybe your children are not in public education, which in most areas of the nation MUST provide schooling AND reasonable transportation plans for the local school aged children.

[beachmom]

62. You're not going to get that money. The whole thing is a giant hoax.

I mean, where is the bill HRC was to introduce?

[DMorgan]

65. Exactly TRUE! In fact.......

Hillary offering an 18 cent a gallon gas tax rebate to all drivers...is like


O J Simpson offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the real killer of Nicole .

Just a pipe dream!

[frickaline]

69. there is no such thing as free lunch

If we complete ignore the fact that this policy is pure fantasy and has no possibility of passing congress, there is still the fact that higher gas demand and use means lower supply which translates directly to higher prices.

If you like the gas tax line of thinking, maybe you should just run up a high tab on a credit card instead. Hey its free money right?

[IronLionZion]

71. 13 people died and 98 were hospitalized in the MN bridge collapse

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge#Collapse

The bridge just buckled and gave way like a spineless-but-selfish politician.

Tell their families what they can do with the money. Hope and pray that there are no potential weapons nearby when you talk to them.

You are telling us you burn 200 gallons of gas every month?



I wish somebody would build more light rail systems and reroute the buses so more of us can use it to get to work. I'm going to grad school in the fall and deliberately found an apartment within walking distance from campus and close to the DC metro.

[DMorgan]

77. Wasn't there a Republican budget cutting campaign going on in MN?............

That was responsible for delays in repairs to this bridge?

[IronLionZion]

107. Do bears shit in the woods? Who needs terrorists when you have Republicans?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge#Maintenance_and_inspection

Governor Tim Pawlenty has blood on his money-grubbing hands. Infrastructure isn't as sexy as stadiums. Fuck the Republicans.

[taught_me_patience]

75. You drive 4000 miles a month

Don't you think you should pay a bit more for road repair? You're doing more damage to the road than the average driver. Also, saving $100 is not going to help when you have a $500 repair bill for your rack and pinion that gets thrown out of whack do to poor road conditions.

[yardwork]

76. If gas were not artificially expensive, you wouldn't need a tax rebate to save $36.80 per month.

The politicians and their business partners have created the crisis. Then they offer a fake, temporary "solution" to desperate people. Who made us desperate in the first place? They did.

Do you know how much the war in Iraq is costing each of us every single day? Neither do I, but it's a lot. Maybe if we spent a little less money torturing children half a globe away, we'd have more money to repair roads and bridges, provide health care for families, and afford lunches and shoes for our children. Aren't all those things essential? I think so.

[rucky]

78. I wish I had a bigger gas-guzzler.

Then I'd save even more money.

[DMorgan]

79. Yeah, and the more you drive the more you would save!!!!! eom

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

92. An overpriced piece of non-existent pie in the sky.

[hillsidestrangler]

94. You will save nothing because the Oil companies,

will pass the tax onto the American consumer at large. The gas tax holiday is a simple trick and us DUers should be wise enough to understand this fact.

[Umbram]

99. Wow - you just gave McSame's speech from the other day - literally.

Are you a big fan?

He just gave a speech about how we could cut the gas tax and make up for it by giving up pork projects - and he used the same example as you - Bridges in Alaska to nowhere.

Sounds like you've found your candidate!

[BlackVelvet04]

101. 9 gallons of milk n/t

[thoughtcrime1984]

102. Didn't want the gov't to issue those rebates, as we are now more

likely to face higher inflation. Every added bit of debt that we as a nation incur, brings us that much closer to the devaluation of our currency. Something needs to be done, and fast. This gas tax holiday BS is only going to deprive our infrastructure of much needed funds, so perhaps we can have another bridge collapse like the one in Minneapolis. And besides, it is a proven fact that when taxes are lifted, the petro industry fills that "void" with an equal price raise of their own. So, basically, we are once again redirecting federal funds to corporations. You won't be buying shoes or lunchmeat with your newly found "savings", you'll be giving even more money to the likes of






and Hillary knows it.

[IndependentDem]

108. i feel your pain and see your argument...

I also drive 3-4 thousand miles a month and unfortunately mass-transit is not really an option. Also, I'm broke- just got divorced, in a ton of debt.... so ANY extra money is very needed. However, i appose the tax holiday for a couple of reasons: 1. i do not believe that the windfall tax proposed by Clinton will pass by summer, therefore i believe that the potential damage to our infrastructure out ways my person benefits. 2. i do not trust that the oil companies will not almost immediately jack up the prices to make up the difference. 3. i believe that this is nothing more than a political stunt-- if they really wanted to do this for the summer i would think they would have started before now, they know its not going to happen but they know that saving money sounds good.

thats my two cents.

[housewolf]

113. It doesn't matter... it will NEVER happen

Summer starts in 3 weeks. Congress goes out on recess in a couple weeks. Congress will never pass such a bill in that amount of time. George Bush will never allow it to pass. It's just not going to happen, and Hillary & McCain are presenting a false hope to voters. They are using it for political expediency because voters like the idea of saving some $$. You drive considerably more than most people so it would save you more than most others. Hillary & McCain are involved in tempting you to vote for them and support them, saying that they are "on your side." It's political pandering at its most blatent, because this is so-called "Gas TaxHoliday" is never going to happen.

[skygazer]

115. Short-term thinking is the reason we are in this position

What can it do for ME? NOW? No concern about the long-term impact, or the nationwide impact. Nope, it's all about ME. NOW.

As for me, I don't make a lot of money and no, I don't send my tax checks to the government. I can use every cent I can get my hands on. But I can still look at the big picture and see that

1. A gas tax holiday will simply put a quick band-aid on the issue of high gas prices;

2. It will do nothing to encourage people to drive less, use public transportation or explore alternative energy options; and

3. It may be $36.80 for you - multiply that by however many people we're talking about here and think about what that money can do for all of us.

So here's my discussion - beyond what it does for YOU immediately, what positive effects will a gas tax holiday have on the real issue, the price of gas?