Gas tax politics

Clinton and McCain are aspiring magicians. At least, that's what I've come to believe. They are trying to magically make a problem go away. The "Gas Tax Relief" idea is a short-term relief effort with no long-term outcomes. Obama has this one right – it’s a gimmick. Let’s examine it for a minute and see why. I’ll save 18.4 cents per gallon, in theory, for roughly 3 months of the summer. My daily commuter car holds 12ish gallons and gets about 25 MPG. I drive about 25 miles (one way) each day to work. So that means I would save about $2.21 per fill up, or about 37 cents per day (weekdays). I work five (5) days per week and we’ll assume I drive that same car everyday to work. Now, that would be $1.84 per week of “relief.” I don’t know about you but that isn’t much – not even enough to buy a gallon of milk, and barely enough to buy a loaf of bread. However, let’s continue the math and see where it takes us. There are about 15 weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day (we won’t factor in the holidays or vacation time). That means I’d save a total of $27.60 for the summer on gas for my commute. That’s nowhere near the “about $70” Clinton is claiming it would save “average Americans.” Oddly enough, Obama is claiming it would only save you about $30. It seems cut and dry to me. Maybe Clinton’s $70 is based on a less fuel efficient vehicle? Let’s try using my pick-up as an example instead. Changing only the MPG in the above mathematics to 15 MPG I would see $45.54 in savings. That’s still nowhere near $70. Let’s try increasing the commute mileage too and see if we can reach that elusive $70 mark. At five (5) gallons of gas per day we see $69 in savings over the summer. I would travel 75 miles in my truck, or 125 miles in my commuter car, per day at that rate. Is that really the average consumption? Not according to ABC News, which stated the “one-way average commute… [is a] distance of 16 miles.”

Why not propose something with short-term relief and long-term outcomes? Here’s an idea, a tax break for anyone selling their SUV/Truck (getting less than 20 MPG) and purchasing a vehicle that achieves no less than 30 MPG (trading in just got better). A tax break of up to $2500 would incent people to do it and it would help strike a blow at the largest reason for the “pain at the pump” – inefficient vehicles. We aren’t going to see gas prices go down and the economy begin to rebound until we give up our excess. Some people can’t afford to do this on their own and this would help make it possible. Others would take advantage of the deal just for the savings. Not everyone would do it, but if say 10% of the consumer market did it, you would see a decrease in gas consumption overall. With that decrease in demand, comes a decrease in the cost. Additionally, it would send a clear message to the auto industry that America wants better fuel economy. As long as we continue to buy gas-guzzling vehicles, the car manufacturers will continue to make them. Do you really need a Hemi in your four-door sedan?

Oh yeah, Happy Cinco de Mayo!