Gas Tax Holiday

[olyclimber]

Doesn't this seem like a bad idea? Cutting funding to our infrastructure? Encouraging people to buy gas by lowering the price? Should we let the market do its work and drive innovation rather than allow our roads fall into disrepair?

 

http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=103

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

"Public Parks & Recreation

 

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C-

Many of our nation's public parks, beaches and recreational harbors are falling into a state of disrepair. Much of the initial construction of roads, bridges, utility systems, shore protection structures and beaches was done more than 50 years ago. These facilities are anchors for tourism and economic development and often provide the public's only access to the country's cultural, historic and natural resources. The National Park Service estimates a maintenance backlog of $6.1 billion for their facilities. Additionally, there is great need for maintenance, replacement and construction of new infrastructure in our nation's state and municipal park systems."

[ivan]

Doesn't this seem like a bad idea? Cutting funding to our infrastructure? Encouraging people to buy gas by lowering the price? Should we let the market do its work and drive innovation rather than allow our roads fall into disrepair?

 

http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=103

i agree - the pain at the pump compells conservation and, as you say, drives innovation

[prole]

"Public Parks & Recreation

 

--

C-

Many of our nation's public parks, beaches and recreational harbors are falling into a state of disrepair. Much of the initial construction of roads, bridges, utility systems, shore protection structures and beaches was done more than 50 years ago. These facilities are anchors for tourism and economic development and often provide the public's only access to the country's cultural, historic and natural resources. The National Park Service estimates a maintenance backlog of $6.1 billion for their facilities. Additionally, there is great need for maintenance, replacement and construction of new infrastructure in our nation's state and municipal park systems."

 

Looks like the "free market" is operating exactly as it should and only as it can in this case.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

"Public Parks & Recreation

 

--

C-

Many of our nation's public parks, beaches and recreational harbors are falling into a state of disrepair. Much of the initial construction of roads, bridges, utility systems, shore protection structures and beaches was done more than 50 years ago. These facilities are anchors for tourism and economic development and often provide the public's only access to the country's cultural, historic and natural resources. The National Park Service estimates a maintenance backlog of $6.1 billion for their facilities. Additionally, there is great need for maintenance, replacement and construction of new infrastructure in our nation's state and municipal park systems."

 

Looks like the "free market" is operating exactly as it should and only as it can in this case.

 

your ilk would use the parks as a toxic nuclear dump or mass grave for enemies of the state.

[Hendershot]

See how our canidates feel about it;

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKN3038243520080430

 

[mattp]

Hey KK: stop spraying and get your work done so you can come to the park for a couple hot dogs tonight!

[KaskadskyjKozak]

See how our canidates feel about it;

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKN3038243520080430

 

Of course infrastructure has been a very prominent part of the campaign and each candidate has spent huge amounts of their time on the campaign trail discussing this issue.

 

[billcoe]

Doesn't this seem like a bad idea? Cutting funding to our infrastructure? Encouraging people to buy gas by lowering the price? Should we let the market do its work and drive innovation rather than allow our roads fall into disrepair?

 

http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=103

 

YES.

 

It's the basest form of pandering, in that everyone has to pay anyway. They will need to make that money up elsewhere ot borrow it from the Chinese in the form of bonds like they do currently. McCain is looking less and less presidential as he stands next to Obama to me, this is Exibit A (or maybe Exibit G depending on how you read the scale).

[powderhound]

This is some of the biggest hype I have seen and it pisses me off:

 

1. Since when is any problem solved (individually, nationally, in a company) by taking a "vacation" from it?

2. This will create a higher deficit since the republicans took out the tax code law that when you remove one source of revenue from the federal income you have to replace it somewhere else. Hopefully the new president and congress will replace this law, we have talked about this issue extensively in my advanced tax class and it has been a major factor in the huge BUSH deficit.

3. The oil company's are still going to make the same profit.

4. You are just going to increase demand, when people are starting to make lifestyle changes to reflect the high cost of oil ran transportation. I think we should let gas prices rise with the market, because consumers will dictate the model.

5. Most economic analysis I have read on this issue indicate that this will compound the problem later, like what happens in you own life when you ignore problems they get worse.

7. That gas tax supports : schools, roads, health care, ect... and I can just see the finger pointing later when they start cutting funding.

 

7. Why do they call It a holiday: its going to be fucking Christmas for the oil company's and soon to be nightmare for consumers.

 

8.Ride a bike, its still snowing here in bozeman, and I haven't bought a tank of gas in a month and a half. Consumers demand and our collective purchasing power is one of the only ways we can effectively influence corporations and businesses.

 

My Solution: Put the money from Iraq into research for sustainability, on all levels. Some of my fellow accounting and finance grad students are working on cost/benefit analysis thesis papers and it seems like we have a lot to learn in this area. New jobs are already being created in this area at a rapid pace. Most company's are realizing that this matters to consumers and have begun to implement this into their corporate structure. They realize if they don't then they are going to loss a competitive advantage to their competitors that do, possibly causing them eventually exit the market.

 

[Blake]

For-profit companies are going to charge prices in order to maximize profits.

 

This should come as a shock/surprise/insult to nobody.

 

Who determines what profits are healthy vs 'extreme' or 'gouging'?

 

Under McCain's gas-tax holiday, the incentive would exist for gasoline companies to merely increase their pump prices by $.18 (or more) per gallon to make up the difference.

As rational price-setters, they know that an $.18 increase (back to normal tax prices) will not result in an inversely proportional drop in demand.

 

 

If the goal is just to give money to tax payers (which is sort of the case here...), that should be done in a way that WONT increase gasoline demand or oil company profits.

 

It seems like the real goal here is to pander to the economically illiterate or uninformed, just like when G.W. Bush told voters before the 2006 election that a US withdrawal from Iraq would result in a barrel of oil costing $200-$300.

 

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

For-profit companies are going to charge prices in order to maximize profits.

 

This should come as a shock/surprise/insult to nobody.

 

Who determines what profits are healthy vs 'extreme' or 'gouging'?

 

Under McCain's gas-tax holiday, the incentive would exist for gasoline companies to merely increase their pump prices by $.18 (or more) negate the reduced price, because they know that doing this will not result in an inversely proportional drop in demand.

 

If the goal is just to give money to tax payers (which is sort of the case here...), that should be done in a way that WONT increase gasoline demand or oil company profits.

 

It seems like the real goal here is to pander to the economically illiterate or uninformed.

 

 

gas prices have risen a dollar in the last year. the price has certainly taken an $.18 spike at some point.

 

.18/$4 doesn't amount to shit. the tax is not the problem, and not much "relief"

 

how about a "exercise your fat ass" holiday instead? yeah, I know, it will not go over well.

 

[JayB]

It seems like the real goal here is to pander to the economically illiterate...

 

Given the percentage of the electorate that falls into this category, it's little wonder that the candidates are competing for their votes....

 

 

 

 

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

It seems like the real goal here is to pander to the economically illiterate...

 

Given the percentage of the electorate that falls into this category, it's little wonder that the candidates are competing for their votes....

 

 

 

 

 

it goes far deeper than economic illiteracy

[archenemy]

This would never pass legislation anyway. It's fun to dream about; but it will never happen.

Shit in one hand, wish in the other, see which fills up first.

[archenemy]

K--you lazy,unproductive worthless bastard-- are you going to the picnic tonight?

[olyclimber]

it depends on what you wish for. this morning both hands were full for me.

[archenemy]

double your pleasure, eh?

[olyclimber]

morning constitutional

[KaskadskyjKozak]

K--you lazy,unproductive worthless bastard-- are you going to the picnic tonight?

 

I'm on a production deploy death march today. boredom interspersed with the next crisis and back to boredom until the next crisis. it will get worse as the day goes on

[ivan]

how about a "exercise your fat ass" holiday instead? yeah, I know, it will not go over well.

didn't carter, who i know you love to hate, ask americans to do exactly that in the in 70s, albeit in much pansier language?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

how about a "exercise your fat ass" holiday instead? yeah, I know, it will not go over well.

didn't carter, who i know you love to hate, ask americans to do exactly that in the in 70s, albeit in much pansier language?

 

i've already cited the malaise speech in a thread on cc.com in the past. the words (take away the goofy peanut farmer smile and southern delivery) and the dude was right. but hey a stopped clock is correct twice a day.

 

[ivan]

how about a "exercise your fat ass" holiday instead? yeah, I know, it will not go over well.

didn't carter, who i know you love to hate, ask americans to do exactly that in the in 70s, albeit in much pansier language?

 

i've already cited the malaise speech in a thread on cc.com in the past. the words (take away the goofy peanut farmer smile and southern delivery) and the dude was right. but hey a stopped clock is correct twice a day.

just happy to see you're enlightened enough to admit it

 

now if we could jsut find a way to run cars on bullshit, between politicians and sprayer we'd be just fine...

[archenemy]

K--you lazy,unproductive worthless bastard-- are you going to the picnic tonight?

 

I'm on a production deploy death march today. boredom interspersed with the next crisis and back to boredom until the next crisis. it will get worse as the day goes on

I feel your pain. We have a RTP this weekend and have some yucky perf stuff going on. Fortunately, for once, the fact that our Stage is so far off from our Prod worked in our favor. We refreshed the SQL procs and things improved in stage and everyone took a breath. Of course, we'll see what else comes up this weekend.

Good luck on your deployment. Don't kill anyone and you can consider it a raging success

I'll eat a hotdog for you. I'm a friend like that.