Bird’s-Eye View

Jonathan Alter of Newsweek, whose columns consistently favor Obama, explains in detail tonight why the gas tax holiday supported by John McCain and Hillary Clinton is a bad idea. Among his reasons:

If the federal excise tax were lifted, oil companies would simply raise prices and pocket most of the difference …

It offers taxpayers only peanuts. The Congressional Budget Office says the average savings to motorists this summer would be a total of $30. Did I miss something, or was that measly number somehow not included in Clinton’s explanation of her support?

It makes it more likely you’ll have a car accident or will waste even more time in traffic. The proceeds from the gas tax go for highway construction and upgrades. Because the tax (24.4 cents a gallon on diesel fuel) was last raised 15 years ago, our infrastructure is a mess, with potholes and dangerous crossings practically everywhere. Thousands of repair projects will be further delayed.

It will cost 300,000 construction jobs, according to the Department of Transportation. Makes it kind of ironic when Clinton starts her rallies saying she wants “jobs, jobs, jobs.”

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