Obama Camp Response on McCain's Gas Tax Holiday
Tonight, at his Town Hall in New York, Senator McCain again reiterated his support for a gas tax holiday. Please find, below, more background on the idea.
· McCain's Gas Tax Holiday Would Cost State and Local Communities $8.93 billion and 310,000 jobs. John McCain's gas tax holiday would cost $8,935,000,000 in federal funding for local road and bridge projects and 310,750 highway related jobs. [American Road and Transportation Builders Association <http://www.artba.org/pdf/Cost_of_Proposal_to_Suspend_Gas_Tax.pdf> ]
· State Highway and Transportation Officials: “McCain's Gas Tax Holiday Would Devastate Highway and Transportation Programs;” Savings Would Be $28 For the Average Motorist. “Presidential contender Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has called for a suspension of the federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes from Memorial Day to Labor Day. AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley said, "This proposal would have devastating impacts upon the federal-aid highway and transit programs, sharply reducing funding available to states and jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide. Such a move would be short-sighted and damaging to our nation's economy, while providing little relief to America's drivers." AASHTO estimates that for the average motorists, driving approximately 12,000 miles per year, the savings would amount to roughly $28, less than the cost of a half tank of gasoline.” [American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials <http://news.transportation.org/download_pdffile.aspx?Action=News&RecID=165> ]
· 150 Economists: Research Shows Waiving Gas Tax Would Generate Profits for Oil Companies Rather Than Lowering Costs for Consumers. “As economists who study issues of energy policy, taxation, public finance, and budgeting, we write to indicate our opposition to this policy. Put simply, suspending the federal tax on gasoline this summer is a bad idea and we oppose it. There are several reasons for this opposition. First, research shows that waiving the gas tax would generate major profits for oil companies rather than significantly lowering prices for consumers.” [Economists Letter, 5/2/08 <http://www.politico.com/static/PPM43_080502_list_gastax.html> ]
· “McCain has his facts backward” “McCain has his facts backward. While most economists would agree that low-income persons feel the pinch of rising gasoline prices more keenly than the affluent, that's because they have less money and not because they drive more miles. The truth is, affluent families drive twice as many miles as lower-income families. They own more vehicles and drive each of them farther on average. And they spend more than twice as much on gasoline.” [Factcheck.org <http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/print_do_the_poor_drive_farther_than_the.html> ]
