News & Politics QotW: Gas Tax Holiday

Do you support the gas tax holiday being pushed by Clinton and McCain?

As an oil company employee, I should be all for it. At least half of that money will end up in our pockets, based on Texas' experiment. And the expectation of lower prices will drive up demand, allowing us to sell more gas. So we make money both ways.

But, as an American, I've got to say that this is the stupidest idea since putting roller skates on a pig [1]. That money pays for new highways, and for repairing old ones [2]. In addition, it takes the focus away from conservation and alternative energy (both of which would reduce the trade deficit [3] and improve our national security [4]) and puts it onto a silly election-year stunt. It is vote-buying, plain and simple.

Dunno about you, but my vote is worth a hell of a lot more than what they are offering...

John

[1] Or releasing Microsoft Vista - your choice.

[2] Remember the Minneapolis Bridge collapse? You know - the one due (at least in part) to shoddy maintenance? Exactly how is cutting the funding for road repair going to keep this from happening again?

[3] Most of that oil comes from overseas. A surprising amount comes from places that support terrorists, are against full civil liberties, or just plain don't like America. Explain to me again how sending them our money to attack us is a good thing?

[4] "He who can destroy a thing, can controls a thing" - Frank Herbert, Dune. Our modern economy runs on energy, which means oil. By reducing our oil supply by a mere 10%, those who control the oil can cripple us. By reducing it 25%, they could destroy us. Do you really want to be controlled by those bozos?