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Old 04-30-2008, 09:00 PM   #8 (permalink)
SecretMethod70
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Clinton is. McCain admits he doesn't know much about economics...I can believe he may not understand this. Which is fine - the sad thing is that he has advisors who should.

via DailyKos...
Quote:
McCain-Clinton Gas Tax Holiday Proposal Slammed
by SusanG
Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 09:58:37 AM PDT

File this under "It Didn't Even Seem Like a Good Idea at the Time":
Quote:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gas tax holiday proposed by U.S. presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton is viewed as a bad idea by many economists and has drawn unexpected support for Clinton rival Barack Obama, who also is opposed.

"Score one for Obama," wrote Greg Mankiw, a former chairman of President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers. "In light of the side effects associated with driving ... gasoline taxes should be higher than they are, not lower."
The Reuters article cites Bush's former chariman of the Council of Economics advisors, economics professors, think tank wonks and Paul Krugman, all agreeing that the proposal sucks eggs. When you have Krugman and former Bush officials agreeing on something, it must truly be bad.
Quote:
Economists said that since refineries cannot increase their supply of gasoline in the space of a few summer months, lower prices will just boost demand and the benefits will flow to oil companies, not consumers.

"You are just going to push up the price of gas by almost the size of the tax cut," said Eric Toder, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center in Washington.
Obama threw out a great quote about the proposal yesterday; "This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer, it's an idea designed to get them through an election."

Confirmation of Obama's take was provided this morning by the Washington Post:
Quote:
Clinton aides think that even if the measure is a limited way to reduce gas prices, it allows the candidate to bash oil companies and cast her opponent against an idea that has political appeal.
Aside from the political ploy aspect, there is the long-term cost of convincing the public that such an elementary quick fix will solve our energy problems, as the Reuters article points out:
Quote:
Many economists implicitly agreed with Obama and said the McCain-Clinton gas tax plan sent the wrong signal on energy efficiency and was at odds with their pledges to combat climate change by encouraging lower U.S. carbon emissions.
Update: To get an extra taste of how bad it is, here's an excerpt from uber-Clinton supporter Krugman's analysis:
Quote:
Anyway, John McCain has a really bad idea on gasoline, Hillary Clinton is emulating him (but with a twist that makes her plan pointless rather than evil), and Barack Obama, to his credit, says no....The Clinton twist is that she proposes paying for the revenue loss with an excess profits tax on oil companies. In one pocket, out the other. So it’s pointless, not evil. But it is pointless, and disappointing.
Update #2: And here's Tom Friedman on it as well:
Quote:
Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for this summer’s travel season. This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks. What a way to build our country.
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Last edited by SecretMethod70; 04-30-2008 at 11:44 PM.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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