As Americans are watching prices at the pump go up, we hear from a lot of different quarters as to what to do about it.Siphon from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, says Democratic candidate John Kerry. Work with the Saudis to increase production, says the Bush administration. But has anyone mentioned the easiest and most taxpayer-friendly solution? Lower the gas tax.
The federal government gets 18.5 cents a gallon. The states, on average, get 24 cents. If you want to drop the pump price immediately, let the feds and states each lower their rates by a dime.
Politically impossible, you say. Florida State Rep. Bob Henriquez, D-Tampa, didn’t think so. He was successful in getting an 8-cent reduction enacted, but it’s only for the month of August. But he’s the exception. Why? Because gas is so necessary to the American economy that it is a guaranteed revenue stream for government. So essential, in fact, that some – including Kerry – want to raise gas taxes by 50 cents.
Here’s The New Republic’s Gregg Easterbrook, writing in The New York Times about Kerry’s call for a gas tax increase 10 years ago:
“(I)f higher gasoline taxes had moderated the ever-growing national thirst for oil, fuel at the pump still would have become more expensive — but Americans would be sending the extra money to Washington rather than Riyadh.”
Wrong! We still would have been sending extra money to Riyadh because a growing economy needs energy, but we would have been sending even more to Washington – which is just what the gasbags want.
It’s big government dreams couched in pro-environment policy.
Reducing dependence on foreign oil is a fine goal. But the way to do that is by producing more domestic supply – which is available in Alaska, if only the liberals in Congress would let us drill – not raising taxes on U.S. consumers.