Senator Sanders guzzles the gas tax Cool Aid

It’s no secret that we Impatient Sufferers are generally supportive of Senator Bernie Sanders. He consistently fights for the ideals we hold most dear and rarely panders. Today, however, he has disappointed us.

We have written on the federal gas tax holiday before. We noted that though it sounds like a lovely idea, it really won’t serve to do much good. We have also noted that there is little we can do to increase our supply of gas so prices are likely to continue to rise.

John McCain and Hillary Clinton have both proposed eliminating the federal taxes on gas in order to lower prices. McCain’s plan simply leave a hole in the budget where the funds for road work used to be. Hillary proposes creating a windfall tax on the oil companies to cover the cost difference, a strategy that will certainly result in gas prices rising to match the savings provided by the elimination of the tax.

Senator Sanders has gone one step further. He is actually proposing a holiday for not only the federal gas taxes but the state gas taxes as well. He, like Hillary, proposes funding it by placing windfall taxes on the oil companies. Unfortunately, the same problem will arise from this proposed solution. The taxes will be eliminated and replaced with an additional cost to the oil companies. Those costs will in turn be passed on to consumers. When the tax holiday ends, it’s likely the gas companies will not lower the prices so at the end of the holiday we will see a large cost increase as the tax kicks back in, just in time for the winter heating season.

Though this one issue hardly tarnishes Senator Sanders remarkable record, it is troubling that he would jump so completely onto a short sighted plan. Not only that, but it is particularly sad to see him see McCain’s federal gas tax holiday and raise him a state gas tax holiday. It’s one thing to jump on a bad idea, it’s another to propose making it even worse.