| I'm not a tax advocate and would generally like taxes reduced as much as possible. However, Reducing the gas tax for a short period of time like a few months seems counter-productive to me. Yes, people will save a few bucks on gas purchases for those few months but I'm certain the tax money will just come from somewhere else and trying to make up for it by increasing the taxes paid by the oil companies is also counter-productive (reduced income means higher charges, reduced exploration reduced available oil yielding even higher costs). And how will people feel when they go to fill up once the grace period is over and they find that gas has gone up at least 18 cents overnight? They won't like it at all - especially since by then gas has possibly gone up 18 cents in the imterim anyway and now gas costs even more than before the grace period.
I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with the Obama perspective stated by the OP - i.e. no monkeying with the gas tax for what really amounts to a political talking point. If anything, I'd rather see the 18 cents for that period be invested in finding more oil and alternatives to oil so we can have a longer term action plan. |