How about a gas tax holiday?

[bluestateguy]

One or two days of no gasoline taxes, giving Americans the chance to fill up at more affordable prices. The federal government could reimburse the states for the one or two days of lost state tax revenue. The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and state taxes range from 10 to 33 cents a gallon. I'm just throwing this idea out there.

Comments?

[the_spectator]

1. Well there is the cost, that you have accounted for,

but there would also be safety issues. People wouldn't just fill up their cars; they'd also fill up random gas cans and other large containers to put in their gas-tank later on.

Sparks, fires, explosions!

A 28 to 51 cent cut per gallon of gas for a day? You KNOW people would!

[tocqueville]

2. how about a bike ?

sorry guys but your gas is still far cheaper than the European, about half price. OK ours is mostly taxes, but at least they build collective transportation with that money...

I say that because the solution is to find sustainable ways of dealing with energy and not in manipulating tax money back and forth.
The oil will get more and more expensive, drilling in Arctic or not.

So before they dig up Colorado and wyoming to get at the oil shales (it's already profitable at a $40 the barrel), you better get started...

Well having Bush in charge is not helping, I know....

[Telly Savalas]

6. But still, it's not Bush's fault that the opposition is nearly silent...

on the issue of public transportation and alternative energy. Obviously nothing is going to get done under GOP rule, but nothing is going to get done under the next Democratic administration and Congress in 2009 if we don't start pressing for it now.

[1932]

3. How about a gas PROFIT holiday. Pay the taxes only, so our country can

get some money to take care of its citizens.

Make the record-profits receiving oil companies take the hit.

[htuttle]

4. They would have to borrow money from China to give it to the states

There isn't any extra money anywhere. Bush gave it all to the rich with his tax cuts (except for what's been stolen by his war-profiteering cronies).

The federal gov't cut funding to the states earlier in his first term, so that gas tax revenue is paying for lots of important things nowdays. The federal gov't doesn't HAVE any extra left after the Iraq war scamming and the reverse-Robin-Hood tax cuts. So if they were to give money back to the states to reimburse the lost revenue, they'd ultimately have to borrow it from China.

Our economy and federal budget are currently broken to the point that a one or two day quick fix like you suggest is likely to do more harm than good.

If you want to talk about rolling back Bush's tax boondoggle and pulling the troops out of the Iraq money pit, then we might have something to work with. But that isn't likely to happen for several years, by which point it will be too late to make a difference.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. How about a driving moratorium?

How about a four day work week and a driving moratorium on the fifth day?

[Telly Savalas]

7. In anticipation of the extra demand gas stations would just jack up

their prices.

[beetbox]

8. We need to raise gas taxes significantly

and use that money for building mass transit.

1. Insist on complete transparancy of the world's oil reserves and production on a well by well basis.
2. Make national energy independence a national economic and security goal
3. Create an energy efficiency ethic in society that abhors wasteful behaviors
4. Raise fuel economy standards for passenger cars and trucks - encourage adoption of hybrids, electric plug-ins and other more sustainable automobile designs
5. Re-institute the 55 mph speed limit for maximum efficiency
6. Decrease traffic through better design, congestion pricing, more telecommuting, staggered start hours, off-peak commuting incentives carpooling, etc.
7. Invest in building and maintaining mass transit systems to connect as many communities as possible.
8. Invest in the national passenger and freight rail infrastructure
9. Revise building codes for maxiumum energy efficiency
10. Encourage walking, biking, line skating and all forms of self propelled transportation through clearly marked lanes and public awareness campaigns.
11. Encourage local food production, urban green gardens, farmer markets.
12. Generate as much local power as possible from solar, wind, biomass, hydro/tidal and other sustainable forms of energy

[bluestateguy]

9. I'm all for mass transit

I really am, but not every single American worker can be expected to use it to get to work every day. It should be funded through a sales tax, or corporate tax, or bond issues or excise taxes on things like alcohol, car rentals or maybe parking and speeding tickets.

No matter how hard you try and how advanced of a system you set up, there will always be some workers whose work schedule and place of residence does not permit them to take mass transit every day. They should not be punished simply becuase they don't fit into the designs of the central planners.