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Originally Posted by dc_dux
I'm with Obama on this. Its an election year "solution" that really provides no meaningful savings at all to most consumers.
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The gas tax holiday idea is a 100% political move to get votes. Either McCain's way or Clinton's way consumers will still end up paying for this tax holiday.
Under McCain's plan, assuming the tax money is needed for the intended purpose, either we pay through the gas tax now or we pay through increased taxes later.
Under Clinton's plan oil companies will pass on any increased costs to consumers. The concept of controlling "windfall profits" through taxation shows a lack of a long-term economic view. The "windfall profit tax in the early 1980's actually lead to lower relative domestic oil production and tax collections were significantly lower than the Federal Government anticipated.
To the degree that oil companies are making excessive profits, we only need to look at how government is restricting supply and competition in the market for starters.