Comments on: The Gas Tax Holiday: Political Pandering And Economic Stupidity In One Convenient Package

By: Below The Beltway » Blog Archive » John McCain’s Really Bad Idea Makes A Comeback

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:54:39 +0000

[...] I noted more than once —- see here, here, here, here, and here —- the absurdity of the idea that suspending an 18-cent per gallon for three months [...]

By: Shelly

Shelly — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:21:32 +0000

People keep saying that a gas tax holiday is pandering but did no one hear the interview with Obama where he said that he would give people a $1000 tax break (federal income tax i assume) instead? This is pandering. It also assumes that everyone has the same need. I’m sure tired of everyone treating Obama like he’s a different kind of politician. Perhaps he is. He appears to be sneaker. I think this opposition of a gas tax holiday and offering a tax break instead is a perfect example.

By: bobbank

bobbank — Sun, 04 May 2008 05:03:33 +0000

I do not understand the unified hostility toward this idea, and I also do not understand why smart people who know a lot of economics are pretending that demand for gasoline is elastic. It is not. If I wake up one morning and see the price of gas reduced by 9 cents, I do not decide to take a longer route on my commute for the rest of the week. Changes in consumption of gasoline come about only as a result of prolonged and significant changes in price.

If you have time, could you please read:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/5/3/183039/0215

And tell me where I went wrong?

By: Below The Beltway » Blog Archive » Bloomberg On The Gas Tax Holiday: The Dumbest Idea I’ve Heard In A Long Time

Fri, 02 May 2008 16:54:04 +0000

[...] Tax Ad More On The Gas Tax Holiday Scam Hillary Clinton Continues To Demagogue The Gas Tax Holiday The Gas Tax Holiday: Political Pandering And Economic Stupidity In One Convenient Package [...]

By: Doug Mataconis

Doug Mataconis — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:20:03 +0000

But where’s the evidence, or the argument, that a temporary three month suspension would get passed along to consumers at any point, or that it would do any good ?

Assuming the good professors are true, though, that means that the most my wife and I would “save” during the suspension that the Clinton-McCain-RNC triumvirate are suggestionwould be $ 35.00 assuming that the post-tax price of gas remains the same which, I think is like wishing that a unicorn will win the Kentucky Derby tomorrow.

By: D.J. McGuire

D.J. McGuire — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:54:45 +0000

This is something I enjoy saying: Paul Krugman is wrong.

In fact, according to Professors Hayley Chouinard (Washington State) and Jeffrey Perloff (UC-Berkeley), roughly half of the federal gas tax is paid by consumers (admittedly not as much as I expected, but far more than the zero Krugman implies). Therefore, a suspension of the 18.4 cent tax will most likely lead to a reduction of about 9 cents.

I’m not saying the impact will be dramatic, but it won’t be non-existent either.

The deeper question is, who does one trust with our economic resources? The government or the people? I’ll take the latter.