The Political Chase

Center for American Progress on Gas Tax Holiday

The Center for American Progress (viz. Think Progress) seldom, if ever, weighs in heavily against one of the Democratic presidential candidates. I’ve heard a few pundits critically comment that it leans towards Hillary Clinton, but I have personally seen no evidence of any substantive bias towards Obama or Clinton. McCain, of course is a different story. They routinely bash him, but now they’re bashing Clinton and McCain over their "destructive nuttiness."

This is from yesterday’s Progress Report.

Gas Tax Holiday Is A Bad Idea

[...] Economic analysts of all stripes have responded with horror, pointing out that "the benefits will flow to oil companies, not consumers." Even if a suspension of the gas tax led to lower prices, the rich would benefit the most, since "the more a family earns, the more they drive," notes Sam Davis of the Center for American Progress. Len Burman of the non partisan Urban Institute calls the proposal "a huge windfall for refiners." New York Times columnist Tom Friedman argues, "This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks." Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter agrees, stating, "Suspending the federal gas tax is a crass ploy for votes." The Atlantic Monthly’s James Fallows calls cutting the gas tax "destructive nuttiness" and "embarrassing."  Economist Gilbert Metcalf called it "very short-sighted," noting, "If we want people to invest in energy-saving cars, we need some assurance that the higher price paid for these cars is going to pay off through fuel savings."