9 Responses for "McCain Calls for Suspension of Gas Tax"

1. Ryan April 15th, 2008 at 7:51 pm 1

   It is nothing but harmless populism. McCain can get some voter anger on his side but nothing is going to happen. Honestly, I do not know if I favor a gas tax reduction because we know its not going to be coupled with an equal amount of spending cuts.

2. Michael C April 16th, 2008 at 8:37 am 2

   Nothing, will come of this.

3. DavidShiffman April 16th, 2008 at 3:44 pm 3

   Instead of cutting gas taxes, why don’t we:

   1) Stop using so much oil in the first place, since almost all of the money leaves the country and much ends up in the hands of our enemies (Chavez or certain Middle Eastern countries).

   2) Invest in alternative, domestic sources of energy and put jobs in THIS country.

4. Langley April 16th, 2008 at 10:37 pm 4

   David, you are asking for things that either a) only individuals can do (and are probably futile) or b) can only be done by private investors.

   Look, people are going to consume what they are going to consume. I don’t thing it’s a bad thing, either. What grates me the most is when leftist professors, et al, magically propose “cutting our consumption.”

   The American consumption (or consumption of any other part of the world, for that matter) isn’t going to drop any time soon. Energy is a necessary resource for our, and the world, economy.

   The government should have little to do with the private market in general, in my opinion. This includes energy. To me, and many other people, it has not even begun to be proven that human activity (a.k.a. “C02″ or whatever boogeyman) has such a significant impact on global warming, which has been a phenomenon in the past and will be one in the future of our planet.

   I’m all in favor of economical solutions to anything - if people can save a few bucks doing this or that in the “green” mold, so be it, I’m all for it. On the other hand, absent conclusive evidence, I don’t think crippling any country’s economy in favor of a “global warming” scheme that is not proven will solve anything. Rather, further controls and regulations will only serve to endanger the economy further and as pointed out before, wouldn’t fix the “global warming” or output problem anyway.

5. DavidShiffman April 16th, 2008 at 10:53 pm 5

   I didn’t say the government. I said “we”, as in “we, the people”. I also didn’t once mention global warming (in this thread, at least).

   Investing in green energy (PEOPLE doing it, not governments) will put jobs in the U.S., and will keep our money from the hands of our enemies. This seems like it should be right up your alley.

6. chemistrydave April 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm 6

   “Investing in green energy (PEOPLE doing it, not governments) will put jobs in the U.S., and will keep our money from the hands of our enemies. This seems like it should be right up your alley” = tax cuts. Individuals need to have the money in their hands to invest it.

7. Ryan April 17th, 2008 at 2:02 pm 7

   Personally I am not going to feel sorry for people over gas prices until I see everyone driving fuel efficient vehicles.

8. chemistrydave April 17th, 2008 at 2:57 pm 8

   I agree ryan. I drive an SUV that drinks gasoline. I have always driven SUVs, and I love them. Gas will have to go to the moon to convince me to change.

9. Publius April 18th, 2008 at 2:14 am 9

   I’m surprised at your opposition to government-funded research on these things. I agree that price controls and mandates aren’t the way to go, but R&D, education and infrastructure development are probably the ONLY things that government funds that actually contribute to long-run economic growth. The rate of technolgical progress is the key determinant of an economy’s growth.

   Compared to other things that the government wastes money on, R&D expenditures yield a huge long-run return. I’m all for anything to spur improvements in productive capacity — private or government-funded.