They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

I read sometime between last posting and right now about Senator Clinton's plan to suspend the gas tax for the summer months, and really just haven't been able to get over A) how ridiculous and stupid it is, and B) the fact that it was supposed to make people like her more. Let us address point A.

Let me point out that the idea of us actually suspending the gas tax for ANY length of time is entirely stupid. I am certain that Senator Clinton, as a member of the United States Congress, is fully aware that any such legislation would require a presidential signature. In case you've been passed out, George W. Bush, the creator of Arbusto Energy, notorious friend of oil companies, and whore to should-be-illegal OPEC, is the President of the United States. That legislation, providing that it, you know, successfully got through both the House and the Senate in any sort of timely fashion, which, as anyone who's ever talked to anyone about anything knows, is SO not likely to happen, is going to be vetoed so quickly that we might as well not even bother trying to get ourselves off by pretending it's possible.

Second, and you're probably going to be able to guess what I do in my free time after you read this, as a tax proposal, Senator Clinton's plan to suspend the gas tax Constitutionally has to originate in the House of Representatives, and, subsequently, would be directed to both the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Energy and Commerce. While telling you all that stuff about committee jurisdiction was mostly for purposes of showing off, the POINT is, the bill still has to originate in the House of Representatives, which A, means that Senator Clinton has to find someone to introduce a bill that she likes, and B, expects that the members of the House of Representatives, especially the members of the Democratic Caucus, are so stupid as to not realize that VOTING on such a bill is going to force them to effectively declare their affiliation with her over Senator Obama. No fucking way. House leadership isn't stupid.

Third, the actual policy implications of a suspension of the gas tax are disastrous. No gas tax = lower prices. Lower gas prices = higher demand. Higher demand w/o higher supply = higher prices. Higher prices as the result of higher demand = prices not much different than before we suspended the gas tax. Then there's the whole point of how, since the gas tax hasn't REALLY succeeded in curbing gas consumption, a suspension of a tax that, from June-August would only save the average consumer about $30 billion, isn't really going to do much to save anyone any money. And we'll just have to hear Exxon Mobile talk later about how they were so kind and heroic and generous and proved their commitment to energy and saving the world by not publicly fucking every member of Congress up the ass once this who extravaganza is over and the American people start pay tax on their gasoline again.

Also, let's just put out there the fact that the presumed increase in consumption that would result from this suspension of the gas tax is really going to do nothing except destroy the environment MORE. Because, come on, we know that giving people a tax cut isn't going to make them appreciate the fact that gas is cheaper. They're not going to save that extra 4 cents every time they fill up. Come on. People are going to consume MORE gasoline.

OH! We do remember that Congress has to follow pay-go rules, right? That's right. So that means that in order to suspend the gas tax for four months, Congress would need to find a way to offset $30 billion. Well, it's not going to come from defense spending, obviously, so it's going to need to come from somewhere else. I guess we can leave Senator Clinton with the task of deciding what gets screwed over. Furthermore, the gas tax pays for the maintenance of U.S. bridges, highways, and other infrastructure. We NEED that $30 so we can continue to pave roads, prevent bridges from collapsing into rivers, and, you know, do other important stuff like that.

Oh. And not that it matters, but Senator Clinton's idea to suspend the gas tax didn't make anyone like her more. Oh well. So much for that.