Who's plan sounds best??

Dems Draw Distinctions on Gas Tax Plans
April 29, 2008 4:34 PMLindsey Ellerson

ABC News' Sunlen Miller and Eloise Harper Report: The Democratic presidential contenders traded jabs on the campaign trail Tuesday regarding their varying positions on a gas tax holiday.

From a Winston Salem, NC town hall meeting, Senator Barack Obama painted Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton as supporting the tax plan for purely political reasons.

"This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer, it's designed to get them through an election," Obama said of the proposal which he does not support. "The easiest thing in the world for a politician to do is to tell you what they think you want to hear. But if we're gonna solve our challenges right now, then we've gotta start telling the American people what they need to hear. Tell 'em the truth."

Obama said McCain and Clinton's support of the gas tax illustrates the problem with Washington.

"Oil companies like Shell and BP just reported record profits for the quarter. And we're arguing over a gimmick to save you half a tank of gas over the course of the entire summer so that everyone in Washington can pat themselves on the back and say that they did something."

But, a spokesman from the McCain campaign, Tucker Bounds, fired back at Obama, charging that the Illinois Senator doesn't fully grasp the current state of the U.S. economy.

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So McCain wants to give us a "break" by repealing the federal taxes on gasoline for three months during the summer. So he is offering a "temporary" band-aid without providing any sort of long term solution.

While Hillary says, that's not good enough...we have to repeal the federal taxes PLUS...ADD an EXTRA TAX to the "big oil" companies who provide us with this "good"...(and that will help how??) Umm...doesn't it just make sense that the extra cost that the providers will have to pay, will then be passed on to the consumers??

Oh but wait...Obama gets the "prize" for his idea...DO NOTHING! He says that repealing the federal tax will only amount to a "half tank" of savings...so its not worth doing...umm...I would take that HALF TANK SAVINGS ANYDAY! Man...what an "elitist" attitude...sigh...

Here's my idea...how about none of the above? Why can't we do what President Ronald Reagan did back in 1981?? He lifted price controls, deregulating crude oil prices which then provided incentives for domestic producers to invest in exploration and to increase production. In addition, he encouraged DOMESTIC DRILLING!!

So how about...we drill offshore and in ANWR, federalize ONE EPA standard gasoline grade instead of one for every state...so we can increase efficiency at the refineries that are currently working at more than full capacity...and perhaps encourage the building of SEVERAL MORE refineries...and on top it all off by ELIMINATING federal taxes on gasoline and at the very least...reduce the state taxes!! Bet we would see a dramatic drop then...but of course, then we would remove the "need" for government to "save us" every time the price of gas goes up!!