| I've ignored the two latest brouhahas involving Sen. Hillary Clinton, the youtube showing her inability to use a coffee machine at a convienence store and the youtube clip showing supposed comments made by a Bill Clinton campaign staffer, Mickey Kantor, in 1992 in Indiana. You can find them elsewhere if you want. Neither are relevant to the campaign. My mother occasionally has trouble with figuring out coffee makers too, but that in no way makes her "elitist" or makes me question her judgment on other issues. And there's considerable doubts about what Kantor is truly saying, enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.
But on Hillary Clinton's call for suspending the gasoline tax temporarily, that does show poor judgement on energy policy.
The Carpentbagger quotes a Bloomberg News Service story:
Economists ... say the oil companies may end up the biggest beneficiaries, while the aid to families wouldn't be enough to buy a $35 backpack.
The trouble with the plan, they say, is that oil prices are rising because of low supplies, and companies will continue to charge the average $3.60 a gallon and just pocket the money that would have gone to federal taxes.
"That's $10 billion, and it's going into the pockets of oil refiners," said Leonard Burman of the Tax Policy Center in Washington. "The last time I checked, they didn't need it."
Supplies are "being cleared at the current price," said Donald Parsons, an economics professor at George Washington University in Washington. "If you take away the tax, you'll have the same number of consumers willing to buy the gas at the same total price."
It also shows a lack of committment on her part to sound fiscal policy. The federal gas taxes pay for the highway and bridge infrastructure that is sorely needed for improvements in this country. One of the things the next administration is going to have to do is get the nation back on track with sound fiscal policy after eight years of runaway deficit spending by George W. Bush - with an assistant from Republicans like Shelley Moore Capito, who now suddenly says she cares about overspending. (Where was she for the previous seven years on the issue when Bush spent money - again - like when he was a alcohol-sodden, cocaine-fueled lout in his 30s with rich parents to bail him out of trouble? Going with Bush on a crazed joy ride on our credit card, that's where she was.)
The problem with Clinton is one she's shown at other times in this campaign. If John "Pander Bear" McCain proposes something, she feels like she has to follow him. Barack Obama showed much more leadership by not joining the other two candidates in crass panderism. Instead, he's talking to the voters like the adults they are.
Obama's in great company on this.
Senator Robert C. Byrd:
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., called McCain's idea "dangerous."
"This proposal would have dangerous consequences," Byrd said. "It would disrupt road construction projects across the country, and stymie economic development in the midst of a recession.
"Instead, we should be getting tough on oil companies who are reaping astronomical profits, and be pushing oil producing countries to lower prices, especially the ones benefiting from the national security efforts of the American taxpayers."
State Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox:
Sen. John McCain's proposal to suspend federal fuel taxes from Memorial Day through Labor Day prompted a swift and negative response Tuesday by West Virginia Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox.
Already struggling to find enough cash for road improvements, Mattox said the Arizona senator and Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting would only make matters worse in West Virginia if less funds were available.
"I was driving down the road when I heard that and about had a heart attack," Mattox laughed, when reached at his Charleston office.
"About 40 percent of our budget comes from the Federal Highway Trust Fund. I'm sure it would take a hit if you quit funding it for three or four months in the peak driving season. I'm sure it would result in a cutback in services we're able to provide."
State contractors' association executive director Mike Clowser:
Mike Clowser, executive director of the state's contractors' association, questions whether McCain's proposal would actually benefit consumers greatly.
Clowser cited two states - Illinois and Indiana - that suspended their state gas taxes in 2001. He said savings were minimal in both cases, and that transportation improvement programs were shortchanged by tens of millions of dollars.
Clowser said he figures that with the way gas prices have been rising without warning, consumers wouldn't feel that much relief in the end.
"The market is what the market is," he said. "Would there be any guarantee the motorists would see a 18.4-cent reduction in gas prices? That would be difficult considering they can fluctuate 10 to 15 cents in any given day or week."
snip
These cuts are going to hurt, particularly at a time when the state Division of Highways is facing serious funding challenges," said Clowser, a Democrat who serves on Charleston City Council. "West Virginia's highway transportation system is entering a crisis situation. The amount of money available to keep our roads maintained and to build new highways is stagnant or declining. Worse, we're experiencing sudden inflationary cost increases in construction materials that are unprecedented in our industry. These factors are diminishing the state's ability to provide a safe, modern and efficient transportation system in West Virginia."
Remember what happens when we don't keep up with infrastructure needs?
Needless to say, the reckless rightwing Bush Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito is for pandering to voters. She flip flops so often on her position on fiscal responsibility that it's hard to tell where she stands on the issue on any given hour.
Hat tip to an emailer. |
