A gas tax holiday may sound nice but…

A few days ago John McCain announced he was in favor of a temporary end to gas taxes for the length of the summer to help mitigate high gas prices. It was a bad idea but, like eating a gallon of ice cream in a sitting, it’s just the sort of bad idea that sounds really great until you try it.

The federal gas tax is currently approximately 18.4 cents per gallon. Combined with what states charge, the total gas tax can be as high as California’s 62.8 cents per gallon or as low as Alaska’s 26.4 cents per gallon. This may seem a significant portion of current gas prices, and it is.

The funds raised from this tax go directly to the repair of the nations roads. In some ways it makes sense to think of this tax, not as a tax on gas but rather as a usage fee for our nations roads. By paying this tax you are paying your portion of the costs of maintaining the roads you drive on.

The repair of the roads in the US is largely the burden of the states. The roads will still be in need of repair this summer, regardless of other political or economic realities. The burden for these repairs will still fall on the states but without the funds provided by the gas tax, those repairs will simply not happen or will be paid for out of other taxes or by slashing funds to other vital programs. No matter how you look at it, slashing this tax will have a real affect on all Americans.

Also, let us consider that although the taxes would be removed for a few months, it is unlikely that the base price of gas would remain static. In fact, it’s likely that the drop in tax would rapidly be offset by the rising overall price. Therefore, the money saved, rather than going to fix our roads, would simply be added to the record profits oil companies are enjoying.

Then think about the drastic jump at the end of the summer as the higher prices combine with the end of the tax holiday to create an overnight jump of nearly 20 cents per gallon. It was one thing for McCain to side with a plan as problematic as the gas tax holiday. He has repeatedly shown that he is out of touch with the needs of Americans, be it by stating he’s ok with 100 years of war in Iraq or by his embrace of Bush’s tax breaks for the rich.

Hillary Clinton came out in favor of a gas tax holiday today though. She is frequently referred to as a “policy wonk” and she certainly is aware of the resistance she is likely to face from the states were she to attempt to make the tax holiday a reality. Still, she sees how on its face the tax cut would be popular and so she’s in favor of it. She sees no problem moving closer to the policies of McCain and so Obama is left as the only candidate picking common sense over political expediency.