No such thing as a free tank

No gas tax for the summer is a bad idea

April 30, 2008

Soaring gas prices are hurting consumers and, for politicians, "consumer" is another word for "voter," and "hurting" is another word for "opportunity." So it's no surprise that presidential hopefuls Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton and some members of the New York State Legislature have proposed a summer gas-tax holiday. Bad idea.

With the price of gas ticking up - it averaged $3.821 a gallon yesterday on Long Island - low- and middle-income consumers do need a break. But a summer suspension of the 18.4 cents-a-gallon federal gas tax would save the average motorist only about $30, roughly half a fill-up. Suspending New York's 32 cents-a-gallon tax for the summer might save consumers a bit more, but both plans rely on sticky-fingered oil executives to actually pass the savings along. And a temporary price drop would encourage people to drive more, easing the urgency for more permanent solutions.

A proposal for such tiny, temporary, iffy savings is a political gimmick, not meaningful relief. Sen. Barack Obama has said as much. His candor won't win many votes. But sooner or later, consumers will have to accept that there is no quick fix. The era of cheap oil is gone, probably for good.

The price of oil is rising because worldwide demand is rising faster than supply. Adding to the problem is the declining dollar, investor speculation and pinched domestic refinery capacity, which contributes to sporadic supply glitches.

To help consumers, officials should look longer-term to such measures as expanded tax breaks for fuel efficient hybrids, helping to locate domestic sites for new refineries and seeding the market by contracting to buy hybrids for government auto fleets. And we should all drive less.