Senator Barack Obama is still trying to explain the truth to people:
While, as I have said, the truth is a great idea, putting money, even 25 or 30 bucks, in people's pockets is even better. Barack, we live in a short term society. 'Give me money now' is the mantra. It is why Wall St. works the way it does. Dozens of companies have gotten into trouble in the past because they maximized short term profits to the detriment of long term viability. Dozens more will in the future. They are a mirror of our society. Or, vice versa. Go argue about that in the comments.
From the Wall St. Journal:
But the political popularity of gas-price relief illustrates the uphill climb facing Sen. Obama. After making his plea Thursday at a retirement community in Columbia City, Ind., an older voter asked him why he couldn't support a gas-tax holiday that would be funded by a tax on oil companies, as Sen. Clinton has proposed, because it would offer some short-term relief. "A lot of us are short term," she quipped.
The New York Times reports Senator Hillary Clinton putting the full court press on Congress:
“Do they stand with hard-pressed Americans who are trying to pay their gas bills at the gas station or do they once again stand with the big oil companies?” Mrs. Clinton, of New York, said. “That’s a vote I’m going to try to get, because I want to know where they stand, and I want them to tell us — are they with us or against us?” (Some Clinton supporters and superdelegates in Congress are among those who oppose a gas tax holiday.)
The same article quotes Senator John McCain in Iowa:
“You’d think that I was attacking Western civilization as we know it,” Mr. McCain replied. “The special interests, ‘Oh, my God. This will destroy our transportation system in America. This will have disastrous consequences.’ Look, all I think is we ought to give low-income Americans, in particular, a little relief.”
I guess the battle lines are drawn. I think that Senator Obama is finding himself on the wrong side.
A ray of hope? Over at First Read, Domenico Montanaro reports that:
Since a gas tax holiday doesn't look feasible, congressional Dems are pushing an alternative that could give some money back to consumers.
And:
“Democrats are likely to propose a temporary ‘windfall-profits tax,’ possibly of 25%, on major oil companies. Companies would be exempt from the tax if they invested profits in domestically produced renewable fuels or expanded refinery capacity or renewable electricity production. Democrats were discussing Thursday how the additional tax revenues might be used, with some advocating rebates for consumers and others backing additional investment in research and incentives for renewable energy."
Now, I am unsure, since I have not really seen it elsewhere, why a 'gas tax holiday' would be unfeasible. Nevertheless, the whole 'windfall-profits tax' thing would fall right into Obama's lap. While it wouldn't turn the issue around it would at least neutralize it.
Now, if you excuse me, I will continue to search, much like Obama, for why the 'gas tax holiday' would be unfeasible.
Comments welcome,
Pat McGovern Sphere: Related Content
