QUICK FIXES DON’T WORK
April 30th, 2008, 12:41 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Lehr
The two candidates pictured above both have recently called for a suspension of the federal gas tax between this Memorial Day & Labor Day, & have both blasted Barack Obama, who opposes it.
No one likes high gas prices. But pandering to the base, immediate needs of the voters represents a “quick fix” style solution designed to get votes rather than address a long-term problem.
Each of the three candidates have promised to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.
Each of these arguments have merits. For starters, each represent a break from the current system which is running on inertia. & look where that’s gotten us.
There are two ways to approach fixing the gas price problem: reducing demand, & increasing supply.
Dropping the federal gas tax for this summer would do neither of these; it would increase demand - presumably because the price would be better - & decrease supply, as more people use gas.
& it really wouldn’t make that much of an impact in your wallet, anyway, as this clip from Good Morning America illustrates:
Thomas Friedman of the New York Times fleshes out that point in his column today.
& lest you think that opposition to the idea sticks with just one ideology, check out the wealth of economists - including a former economic adviser to President Bush - who say it’s a cheap gimmick designed to get votes.
Personally I’m more than happy to pay the tax - provided that tax is going towards figuring out a long-term solution to the problem. I am tired & extremely frustrated at politicians in Washington - of both parties - refusing to look beyond the next week, the next month, the next year, or, most importantly, the next election.
This 2008 presidential campaign, as we’ve said before, is not an easy one. It’s awfully hard. You as a voter have a responsibility to look past your immediate concerns & try to envision how to plan for 20, 30, 50 years down the road. Changing how we view our dependence on foreign oil is just one part of this.
So we urge you to reject any politician’s plan to give you a “quick fix” in the short term while ignoring the long term issues that are at stake for our economic (& literal) survival.
What do you think?
