John Kerry today criticized the Bush administration for not taking action to reduce gas prices fro consumers. Speaking in Portland OR, Kerry said

Yesterday, gas prices soared to more than $2 a gallon, but this administration still has not done anything to help. Their inaction is costing working Americans their jobs, their savings and the opportunity to get ahead.

Are you sitting down. You REALLY should be sitting down for this.

KERRY IS RIGHT

The Bush administration should take action to lower the price of gasoline for average Americans. (Actually, he should lower it for all Americans even the below average ones. Why should the left have to pay more for gas?) The tough part for the administration is that the government doesn't set the price of gas. The market does that. So George can't just sign an executive order saying gas costs $1.74.9. Yes, he could dump a few million gallons of crude from the Strategic Petrolium Reserve, but that would be seen as a short term politically motivated move that would do little in the long run. Besides, things aren't really all that stable in the Middle East these days what with the war and everything. It might be wise to hold on to the SPR until we really need it.

So what is a president to do? How can the federal government take action to directly reduce the price of gasoline? Well, there is the Federal Gas Tax currently 18.4¢ per gallon. President Bush should propose a 50% reduction of the Federal Gas Tax to 9.2¢ per gallon. This would bring the price of gas in most places back under $2.00 per gallon and would bring relief to Average Americans. It should be a relatively easy cut to get through congress. There is no way the Democrats can argue that this is a tax cut for rich. They can't argue that we need the money to pay for Bush's war in Iraq because the revenue from the gas tax is targeted at specific projects - roads and infrastructure.

The campaign debate on this issue would be great entertainment. Kerry would be going into convulsions of nuance trying to flip flop his way out from between the rock and the hard place. Kerry voted in favor of the last gas tax increase. Now he would be forced to choose between reducing a tax he supports and forcing Average Americans to pay a higher price at the pump.

In this boxing match of campaign, Kerry has lead with his right and left his chin exposed. Will Bush connect?

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 04:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment