momofnewP

The details of Hillary's Plan given here seem to present only the positives, not the negatives of her plan. Where are these details taken from?

mathmom

I think we should tax gas at twice the rate we do now, and improve public transportation. I'm also fine with enacting windfall profits taxes and encouraging OPEC to pump more oil. When we lived in Germany gas was around $4 a gallon (different exchange rate of course) and we survived just fine.

mercymom

"I think we should tax gas at twice the rate we do now, and improve public transportation."

Me too! I love all those trains in Europe. When my Swiss neighbors moved back they sold both their cars 'cause they didn't need them back home.

Does anyone know how much gas is in Europe right now? Has it gone up proportionate to US increases? If not, that could support my euro/dollar theory.

mercymom

Well there goes my theory. European gas is running about $8 or $9 a gal:

Weekly Retail PrPemium Motor Gasoline Prices (Including Taxes)

kluge

Mercymom - I love riding the trains, too. The anti-train argument is that "nobody rides trains anymore" but here in California the few lines we have get a lot of usage. I was in Burbank last week and wanted to take a side-trip to San Diego, so I hopped on AMTRAK for the round-trip. It was SRO from Los Angeles to southern Orange County. (Which isn't so bad - on a train you can walk around, go to the cafe car for a bite or a beer, etc.) I ended up having a series of interesting conversations with some college students (heading home to the OC from UCSB) some families, a recently divorced spa salesman and read "The Road" cover to cover. A fun, relaxing time. Renting a car and driving would have cost the same (or more) and not been nearly as relaxing or fun.

As to my original question, I think the positions taken by the candidates are significant, and are the kind of thing I can base my vote on, unlike the silly season goofiness which has been obsessing the media, blogs, and certain corners of CC.

I think McCain's position is stupid, opportunistic pandering. It seriously lowered my opinion of the man. Probably will get him some votes, for all the wrong reasons. Makes me think he's either dumb, sleazy, or both.

Clinton's position? Her "holiday" is just as dumb as McCains, just as pandering. Paying for it with a "special" tax on oil companies is the kind of linkage which leads to bad policy decisions. Here in California the Lottery got passed by promising to give the profits to schools. Everybody loves schools, right? But if a Lottery makes sense, do it on its own merits. If more money for the schools makes sense, do that on its own merits. Linking the two is just a way to get people to do something that doesn't make sense by linking it to something they like. Clinton's oil company proposal may make sense - and if it does, do it. Don't link it to the goofy "holiday." All of her other proposals may make sense as well, but tying them to a voter-pandering gimmick like the gas-tax holiday makes me question their bona fides.

Obama's opposition to the gimmick may cost him votes - but he did it anyway. Good for him. (And if he voted the other way on a similar proposal at the state level a few years ago, better still for him. The ability to not make the same mistake twice is one I'd really, really like to see in a President.)

My personal take? On this one, Obama +1, Clinton -1, McCain -2.

PrimetimeMom

I routinely travel between Los Angeles and San Diego and would love to be able to take Amtrak. However, I have two tiny dogs and you are not allowed to take pets even in carriers on Amtrak. I haven't investigated but I'm willing to bet you're not allowed to take pets on any public transport besides your private car. That needs to change IMO!

I think the gas tax holiday idea is ridiculous and a pandering for votes ploy. Kudos to Obama for thinking this issue through.

marite

S1 has to drive 20 miles to work so he's inherited the family car. H and I both walk to work. When we need a car, we use zipcar. $7.50 an hour if you rent a hybrid. It's enough to do our grocery shopping.

ucsd_ucla_dad

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.

cartera45

Kluge - I agree with you on the candidates' plans. I'm just afraid that Obama is "not going to play the game" right out of contention. I think some votes are only worth about $28. Additionally, I am in favor of gas costing as much as it takes for me to never have to see another Hummer. I don't care that someone will likely post that there are now Hybrid hummers (Hymmers) that get 40 mpg. They are stupid and I hate them. That's my mature, rational argument.

PrimetimeMom

I just googled zipcar because I'd heard of it but did not know what it was. What a fabulous idea!

ucsd_ucla_dad

I sure hope people won't base their vote on a single small issue like this that has little to no effect on them over the next 4-8 years. But I suppose some will.

07DAD

I also agree with Kluge on the candidates' plans, but I don't believe that any of them have the answer to the broader issue of a feasible US energy policy.

I strongly suggest posters go to CSPAN and listen to T. Boone Pickens' speach in April 2008 at Georgetown University. He make sense.

BandTenHut

I am part of a not for profit youth organization that has to move a semi-trailer and 3 buses about 6000 miles this summer. A gas holiday would really help our organization's budget, and for selfish personal reasons I'd like to see it happen. But I agree that Obama has it right.

poetsheart

Hillary's plan involves a multi-pronged attack, which seems quite logical, actually. But it seems to be a plan that would best work as a long term or permanent policy, not something that just works for the summer. There are a number of variables which effect the price of oil in the US. Her plan addresses a good number of them.

Certainly, it offends me that oil companies (which have shamelessly posted obscene profits over the past number of years), would have the audacity to claim that further taxing them would impinge on their exploration abilities. It would only result in them making slightly less of a killing.

I wonder how effective any efforts to "pressure Opec" might possibly be. How do we get them to honor our anti-trust laws? They've got us over a barrel, and they know it as well as we do. We can't exactly take our ball and go home, if they refuse to comply. Plus, I'm pretty sure our oil companies see no profit in greater supply. It would drive down prices, ergo their bottom line.

More than temporarily suspending Federal gas and diesel fuel taxes, changing the laws on gas futures speculation would really go a long way toward stabilizing the price of oil. I'm all for that, but wonder if it can be done---meaning, would congress actually support such legislation?

Truckers in particular, need a break from these skyrocketing prices. If they can't operate, we are screwed. What percentage of our goods (you know, little things like food) get trucked overland? High oil prices are driving the steep increase in the costs of almost everything else. Whatever help we offer truckers needs to be long term, not just for the summer.

I can understand why Obama opposes such a band-aid approach as a 3 month suspension in Federal gas taxes. But what does he propose we do instead?

What does McCain propose we do in the way of long term solutions?

interesteddad

As far as he's concerned, all those bitter hillbillies can just cling to their religion and their guns. Those people's concerns are beneath him. He's a "big picture" visonary. Just ask him. Things will get better just from the mellifulous tones of his reading from a teleprompter.