Instead of a gas-tax holiday, Congress considers gas-tax hike

[d'urville]

From the blog Hot Air:


Despite calls from the presidential election trail for a Memorial Day-to-Labor Day tax freeze, lawmakers quickly concluded — with a prod from the construction industry — that having $9 billion less to spend on highways could create a pre-election specter of thousands of lost jobs.

Now, lawmakers quietly are talking about raising fuel taxes by a dime from the current 18.4 cents a gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents on diesel fuel.

Oberstar, D-Minn., said his committee is working on the next long-term highway bill. He estimated it will take between $450 billion and $500 billion over six years to address safety and congestion issues with highways, bridges and transit systems.

“We’ll put all things on the table,” Oberstar said, but the gas tax “is the cornerstone. Nothing else will work without the underpinning of the higher user fee gas tax.”


link: link (http://hotair.com/archives/2008/07/19/instead-of-a-gas-tax-holiday-congress-considers-gas-tax-hike/)

It's all negotiable, except the tax increase on gasoline and diesel. This is what you get when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are running the country. The GOP needed a winning issue?

[The_Elucidator]

:roar: Brilliant!!!!! Nice little glimpse into a 'Rat controlled WH, CONgress and Senate...

[roguemerc]

God forbid they should get the necessary money for the roads by cutting things that are unnecessary.

[MaximumSam]

Interesting. I always wonder about gas prices. In many ways, oil companies could charge whatever they wanted for gas, because it's something people need to buy. I'm no economist, and I wonder what the driving force is behind the prices.

[Maggie_T]

What does it matter? If it doesn't conform with your liberal agenda, you'll never accept any reason.

[DeclinetoState]

See also: http://www.freeconservatives.com/vb/showthread.php?t=61574

[Timberwolf]

Interesting. I always wonder about gas prices. In many ways, oil companies could charge whatever they wanted for gas, because it's something people need to buy. I'm no economist, and I wonder what the driving force is behind the prices.
Pres. Bush lifts the Executive ban on off shore drilling and the price of crude oil drops by $20 in 4 days.

What do you THINK is driving the price? Here's a hint...it begins with a "g" ends in "t" and the rest of it is "over men"...

[The_Sonarman]

Interesting. I always wonder about gas prices. In many ways, oil companies could charge whatever they wanted for gas, because it's something people need to buy. I'm no economist, and I wonder what the driving force is behind the prices.

I don't know why I try, as you have consistently avoided learning any of life's lessons here. I consider you a lost cause, Sam, and that's sad. I figure you're just here to intentionally irritate the grownups.

No, oil companies can't "charge whatever they want", for gasoline, Sam. There are many oil companies and they are all in competition with each other. They don't all sit down from time to time and plot what to charge for oil and oil products.

Why is this competition "good"?

Competitioin is good because it forces the companies involved to provide their service or product at the lowest price possible. Any company "out there" who can provide gasoline cheaper and still be profitable will take all the business. It will also weed out the inefficient oil companies.

This means low prices for fuel..... as long as politicians don't meddle in that business.

That is our problem today. Congress has intentionally set vast areas "off limits" to oil exploration and drilling. How do I know this? It's my industry, and I've been watching them do it for decades. "We" already know where there's oil fields offshore in both the Pacific and Atlantic.

So, the US has to purchase oil from overseas. "We" are therefore vulnerable to regional trouble, such as Iran threatening to seal off the Straits of Hormuz..... a choke point where a large fraction of the worlds oil supply passes through. Iran rattles their sabers, and the price of oil goes up. Iran rattles the sabers again, and the price goes up. Now it is at $140 per barrel.... all from this vulnerability to foreign oil.

You claim not to understand some of the driving forces behind the price of oil. Well, here is a really big one. Iran. Iran is a very hostile country threatening the free flow of oil. Why does Iran like to threaten the free flow of oil? Because Iran has a lot of oil, and driving the price of oil up benefits Iran.

Let me repeat that.

Iran has a lot of oil, and driving the price of oil up benefits Iran.

It's called extortion.

Second problem. Iran wants to control Iraq and Saudi Arabia as well. Why does Iran want to control those countries? Both Iraq and Saudi Arabil have a lot of oil as well.

Third item. Why is the US in Iraq? To prevent Iran, with Iranian nuclear weapons in the near future, from controlling Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Can you understand why "the world" is vulnerable to Iran, and Iran wanting to control a large portion of Mid East oil? That is Iran's goal.

"If" we have domestic oil sources from a stable government, such as our own offshore oil resources which do exist, "we" are not vulnerable to high oil prices, or Iran's saber rattling, or Iran wanting to own Iraq. We don't give a damn about Middle East oil if we have our own sources close to home.

Here's the end of the logic tree. The Democrats in Congress have been forbidding "us" to drill off our own shores, for our own far cheaper and easier to get oil, for decades.

That is a huge reason why prices are high today, and very likely to go far higher if nothing is done to "fix" this problem caused by Congress.

Your congressional liberal leaders want US citizens hurt by high oil prices. Your fellow Americans who support Green Peace, and the Sierra Club, and the rest of the enviro traitors want their fellow Americans hurt. They have succeeded.

And, before you attempt to derail this thread by claiming "Global Warming" or "Alternative Energy", there is no Global Warming, and there is no viable Alternative Energy. Both concepts where dreamed up to cheat additional gullible people out of money. If there was a viable Alternative Energy, we'd already be using it. We aren't using it, since a viable alternative doesn't exist. Hydrogen? Think "Hindenburg Explosion". Hydrogen is incredibly dangerous to handle, not to mention handling hydrogen at high pressure.

All we have is unrealistic things like ethanol, which only exist because Congress forces it or gives tax credits for using it. Ethanol on it's own isn't a fuel that can replace petrochemicals in the competitive market. "If" Ethanol is "a great idea", it wouldn't take Congression force and tax credits to "make" it happen. Ethanol would displace petrochemicals only if it had benefits petrochemicals did not, or ethanol was cheaper.

[Beowulf]

What does it matter? If it doesn't conform with your liberal agenda, you'll never accept any reason.

Ouch! That'll leave a mark.