Everyone is complaining about high gas prices, and after my Memorial Day weekend trip down south, I’m no different. My question is: Why aren’t we seeing any real leadership from the presidential candidates on this issue?
Beyond the gas tax holiday debate a few weeks ago, we’ve seen and heard little from the candidates except their assurances that they feel our pain. Sen. John McCain introduced a bill in the Senate proposing the gasoline tax holiday that both he and Senator Hillary Clinton support. The idea of agas tax holiday was a non-starter.
Thoughsome observersthink it’s a good idea, mosteconomists,governors,state legislaturesandvotersagree with Senator Barack Obama’s statement that the gas tax holiday is a political “shell game”. A summer break for the gas tax wouldn’t save most Americans much money, and it would drain funds needed to maintain our roads.
Take it from me. We need the money to fix the roads. This past weekend my wife’s car was in the shop to repair the transmission bracket that was broken when she bottomed out in one ofMichigan’s legendary crater-sized potholes. Michigan’s budget problemsmean that there aren’t enough dollars for counties to hire road crews. A tax holiday would exacerbate the problem.
So McCain and Clinton: the gas tax holiday won’t work. What else you got? Ok, Obama. You got it right this time. So what’s YOUR plan?
… Crickets…
Yes, I know. The senators have all been campaigning, fighting to win the most powerful government office on the planet. But if you want to be elected leader of the free world, shouldn’t you prove your leadership during the campaign on an issue that is affecting the majority of Americans?
When it comes to gas prices, though, we pay a lot less than most of the world. As of May 29, Canadians are paying about $5.86 (US) per gallon. On Tuesday, May 28, truckers in the UKbrought traffic to a standstillto protest rising diesel prices which have now topped $11 (US) per gallon. Drivers in theU.S.have had it easy for years, and as a result have become dependent on cheap fuel.
New York Times columnist Tom Friedmansuggeststhat $4.00 a gallon gasoline in the U.S.might be a good thing. He says it will positively affect behavior from consumers and manufacturers more than paying $3.00 at the pumps will. But right now with the U.S. economy in recession, wages being slashed and jobs being shipped overseas, very few working class Americans will view high gas prices as a blessing.
The record oil prices that are causing higher grocery prices in the U.S. and food riots in poor countries can largely be blamed on the Bush Administration’s foreign and domestic policies and on greedy American and multinational corporations. This is only part of the mess that the next president will have to clean up. The smart candidate – the real leader – would get a head start.