Bloomberg: Clinton-McCain Gas Tax Break Is the 'Dumbest Thing'
Michael Bloomberg said giving drivers a break from the gas tax is “the dumbest thing I’ve heard in an awful long time.”
I asked him about it right after he delivered his executive budget at City Hall just now.
He said, “It’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in an awful long time from an economic point of view. I don’t understand why you think there’s any merit to it whatsoever. We’re trying to discourage people from driving and we’re trying to end our energy dependence. We don’t do that—oh, and incidentally, we’re trying to have more money to build infrastructure. All three of those things go fly in the face of giving everybody $30 a year. The $30 bucks is not going to change anybody’s lifestyle. The billions of dollars that we would otherwise have in tax revenues can make a big difference as to what kind of a world we leave our children.”
Bloomberg praised officials who opposed the “summer break on gasoline taxes which would help Chavez, Qaddafi and other people like that. I don’t know why anybody would want to do it.” He went on to say critics like Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver were right. "And," he added, "[Barack] Obama was right on this one, and that [John] McCain and [Hillary] Clinton were wrong. The last thing we need to do is encourage people to drive more and to take away the monies we need for infrastructure in this country."
UPDATE: Joe Bruno's spokesman, Mark Hansen, responds: "The vast majority of New Yorkers, especially upstate, must rely on their cars to get to work and school and do not have any mass transit. The rising price of gas is costing them $10 to $20 more every time they fill up their tanks. The Senate, like John McCain and Hillary Clinton, support cutting gas taxes because it is the right thing to do to give New Yorkers relief."
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Bllomberg and Obama are correct on this one. McCain-Clinton Gas tax is surely the DUMBEST IDEA of this silly season.
Go Bloomberg, tell it like it is.
HILLARY’S SUMMER GAS TAX CUT IS A TOTAL FRAUD --------------- ECONOMISTS PREDICT IT WILL NOT LOWER PRICES --- BUT RATHER INCREASE PROFITS FOR OIL COMPANIES --------------- Read the below quote from a Washington Post article, by By Jonathan Weisman, of April 30, 2008. --------------- “Most economists side with Obama on the issue. Summer gasoline price spikes are driven by demand for fuel far more than supply issues. Suspending the federal gas tax might have a very temporary impact, but prices would rise back quickly to what's known as "the market-clearing rate." If they did not, the country would quickly face fuel shortages. --------------- That would mean the 18-cent decrease in gas taxes would represent a temporary subsidy to the oil companies, says James Hamilton, an energy economist at the University of California - San Diego.” --------------- HILLARY WILL SAY ANYTHING --- DO ANYTHING --- FOR POWER --- NO MATTER HOW LITTLE IT ACCOMPLISHES --- NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT HURTS OTHERS.
AMEN! Say it like it is Mikey!
You'd have to be nothing short of an idiot to buy into the profoundly inane logic of a gas tax holiday.
Sen. Obama was the only one who is NOT playing the old Washington games with the American people. He is telling us the TRUTH, and therefore; is the only one qualified to be the next Commander-in-Chief !
Economist and now Bloomberg concur !
A recent poll asked voters - Whose gas tax plan do you support?
This is the results thusfar:
McCain: gas tax holiday - 2% with 41 votes
Clinton: gas tax holiday, tax oil company profits to pay for it - 16% with 377 votes
Obama: no gas tax holiday - 82% with 1928 votes
It's time for REAL change in Washington, it's time for Barack Obama for president !
I guess Bloomberg thinks the infrastructure is great right now with the gas tax in place. I guess he hasn’t driven to Brooklyn lately. Or maybe his Humvee or limo can handle the ditches in the road.
http://moeursalen.blogspot.com/2008/05/bloomberg-gases-about-gas-tax.htm...
Bloomie, for a billionaire, has more common sense that most. Putting a few measly bucks into the hands of anyone, even the working poor, cannot be justified given the damage it will do the infrastructure those same people will drive on.
It's also as Obama says, a gimmick, pure and simple.
It won't put any appreciable money into the hands of anyone at any economic level, and who's to say the bastard oil companies won't raise prices to make up the difference?
It won't save a single gallon of gas. In fact it might lead to slighly increased usage.
It won't keep a single nickle OUT of the hands of the Arabs and Venezuelans, etc.
It's BS. It's HILLARY-ous.
At least she is willing to come up with SOMETHING while we wait for a bigger and better plan later on. I don't understand the criticism of Clinton's proposed Gas Tax Break. It may not supply savings for a LONG TIME, but what is wrong with a little savings now while we wait for a bigger better Gas Tax Plan later??
Even as a McCain supporter and skeptic of Obamamania, I have to admit he and Bloomberg are right on this one. It's simple incentives! If you want to reduce bad behavior (in this case, gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions) the LAST thing you want to do is make it cheaper! They should be RAISING the gas tax to account for the damage global warming is doing.
Even as a McCain supporter and skeptic of Obamamania, I have to say Bloomberg and Obama nailed this one on the head. It's simple incentives for cryin' out loud. If you want to reduce certain bad behavior (in this case, gas consumption and CO2 emissions), the LAST thing you want to do is make it any cheaper! The gas tax should be RAISED, if anything, to account for the damage global warming is doing.
Living in suburbia is a choice. If you can't handle the gas cost, ride a bike, live closer to work, or move to the city. Not to mention the fact that economists don't support this plan it will just make more money for oil companies.
US gas prices are half the price in Europe. It's about time America increased its taxes on petrol and did its bit to help reduce global warming. The good thing about rising oil prices is that at last AMericans are reducing demand for Hummers and SUVs. Plus it might encourage people to walk and cycle and reduce the endemic obesity in America
check out how cheap US gas (petrol) prices are:
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/economics/fuel-duties-in-the-uk-and-eu...
As a single mom in a small upstate community with no mass transit, I have no choice but to buy gas, and to travel as far as my job requires in order to suport my two children. Any relief on gas prices, albeit temporary, would help, while long-term solutions are sought. I agree that we must reduce our dependency on oil - I drive a subcompact standard that gets 37 mpg higway, so I'm doing my part. I also agree that gas prices should go up to reduce consumption. However, the dramatic increases we've seen recently without corresponding increases in income hurt folks like me. Comparing the US to Europe is not appropriate either. Other than near our major cities, mass transit is not readily available here as it is there. The high gas prices in the US impact everything we purchase as well, with a corresponding effect on the already fragile economy. Even a temporary reduction could help hold the line on consumer prices in many areas. However, any gas tax relief legislation must include a proviso that the consumer sees the reduction at the pump, otherwise it's useless.