Gas For Less Money

Are gas prices going to rise? Almost certainly. Why are gas prices so high, and what can we do about it? Is the proposed “Gas Tax Holiday” an answer to high gas prices? Depends who you ask.

Both Senator John McCain and Senator Hillary Clinton had proposed a “Gas Tax Holiday”, suspending the federal excise tax on gasoline between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2008.

But what exactly does that mean?

It means that the federal government would agree to drop it’s tax during that period. How much tax? Approximately 18.5 cents per gallon gallon for regular unleaded gasoline and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel. It doesn’t sound like much, and in fact, would probably be even less by the time it reaches the pump

It’s estimated that the proposed “Gas Tax Holiday” would save consumers roughly a total of $30 over the three month period it would be in effect.

There is also some doubt that even that much would reach consumers pockets. Unless the oil companies reduced prices, the tax benefit would simply end up in their pockets, becoming in effect a tax loophole for them.

Nor would this tax ‘break’ have any impact on supply and demand, the real culprits behind the rapidly rising cost of gas. In fact, critics argue that it is simply political pandering, offering essentially meaningless gimmicks that sound good but do nothing either to solve the underlying problems, or even provide any real relief.

We at Gas For Less Money strongly back Senator Barack Obama’s stance calling for massive increases in funding for alternative energy and leadership that has the political will to promote real conservation,