Comments on: Obama vs. McCain and Clinton on gas tax relief

By: Drew Venkatraman

Drew Venkatraman — Sun, 04 May 2008 09:14:58 +0000

I think Obama finally has something to go on. (I’m personally tired of hearing about Pastor Wright). However, I don’t necessarily know how good of an idea this is. I think that a hold on gas prices would be a bad idea. If we want to save the environment and conserve gas we should just let the prices be themselves.

By: kyle stevens

kyle stevens — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:48:24 +0000

Great points. Here is the scary thought, the politicians who endorse this idea gain public support. Anyone seen any polls regarding public support of this high uneducated idea?

By: David Gran

David Gran — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:13:55 +0000

Looks like Obama is making an issue out of this, which is a good thing. Maybe this election can be about ‘the issues’ after all. Here’s his commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHtFSi99shk

By: Howard Jing

Howard Jing — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:59:40 +0000

Hooray for pandering to the masses!

I don’t really have much experience in living in the US outside of New York, but is there any reason why mass transit is not as prevalent in other parts of the country? It is much more fuel efficient per person, and you only have to pay $2 a ride so its cheaper to boot. There is no real reason to own a car if you live in the city; in fact most of my friends don’t even have driving licenses.

Why don’t other cities in the US have efficient mass transit systems (at least in high population density areas), and if they do, why aren’t more people taking advantage of them?

By: Cassy Chang

Cassy Chang — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:28:58 +0000

I’d just like to express my disgust at political strategies that bluff the public. The sad part is, many people buy into it…if only more people knew some econ logics…

By: Jonathan Lau

Jonathan Lau — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:02:55 +0000

Wow, Clinton clearly got owned owned on this issue. She probably assumed that if her audience had heard a tax relief on gas, that it would sound appealing and garner her more votes in the upcoming election. Either that or she clearly does not understand the basic principals of microeconomics, like Mr. Welker pointed out. On the other hand, Obama looked at the bigger picture and saw all the negative effects that could happen as a result of the tax relief. In this case, it does not seem that the marginal benefits of reducing tax on gas outweights the marginal costs.

By: caleb

caleb — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:00:21 +0000

Lets just all ride bicycles! ^ ^ v

Okay no really though. Lets do it, but if we can’t I say we still don’t vote for Obama, and smash McCain and Clinton’s ideas. I agree with Alex, if we can’t get new policies, we should get new politicians. Obama can point out all the negative extranalities related to a hold on gas prices, but what would be his counter response?

By: Alex Goldman

Alex Goldman — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:42:57 +0000

Once again we see politicians advertising economic policies (irresponsibly so) to garner votes as the elections grow near. If almost anyone in a high school AP Econ class can pick apart this specious policy then we either need new policies, or new politicians.

By: Chris Seah

Chris Seah — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:27:54 +0000

As much as I take issue with Obama, I have to agree with him on this issue. Solving a minor problem (if it is a problem) at great expense to the nation is silly, and makes it unsurprising that the US is hundreds of billions of dollars in debt. The potential gains from putting the money to good use far outweigh the negative externalities associated with encouraging people to drive. The simple math is too compelling to ignore; perhaps Clinton and McCain are simply pandering to the masses in an indirect $33* bribe to get their vote.

*Value may change depending on fuel capacity and efficiency of vehicle.