Just trying to set the record straight and get her plan out there.

So what's gas cost you these days?

MA - it is up to 3.55 now

No offense to Hillary's plan but it simply will not work.  In the summer months, the refineries are working virtually at capacity.  The spike in gas prices are a reflection of that fact.  Reducing the price by taking off taxes just means that they have room to rise to equilibrium with refinery outputs.

I can perhaps see this working to a limited extent with diesel, but in general it will not actually lower gas prices at the pump.

I work in the transportation field, specifically with the funding of transportation projects and revenue projections surrounding excise taxes and I am saying that this will not work.

/shrugs

This morning, Clinton unveiled a plan to tax oil company "windfall" profits to pay for a gas tax holiday, which she said would provide needed relief for working-class Americans, who have seen energy costs take up greater percentage of their incomes. Here, she also discussed plans to create new jobs in a push to move toward energy independence, while outlining tough tactics she'd employ against oil producing countries to keep oil prices in line.

Obama has been talking about doing this entire campaign, glad she is on board.

eliminate the gas tax this summer and ask Bush's FTC to enforce lower prices.  And you think Obama is naive.

$3.49/gallon here in Kansas. And people were lining up tonight bracing for the next big increase.

Both candidates have reasonable, though imperfect, plans to deal with gas prices. This is a long process, there will not be a quick fix that magically drops the gas prices. Remember, the gas tax is 18cents a gallon, roughly 5% of the current cost. Removing that helps a bit, until prices readjust, but doesn't solve the problem.

The biggest change we can make is ensure that Republicans, and particularly those close to Bush and his cronies, do not get their hands on power for a long time to come. They let Big Oil run the show, and this is what we have to show for it. Neither candidate has a cozy relationship with Big Oil, and that will help tremendously.

Oh, and around 3.85 here. Thankfully the local grocery chain offers discounts on their gas after purchases of groceries. It's a bit of a bait and switch, but since you buy groceries anyways, every little bit helps.

$4 to $4.25 and rising DAILY.

I've had to cut my driving way down (and I don't regret that one bit), but food prices have nearly doubled here from last year (I know it's less in other parts of the country) as well.  It's really getting hard to make a living on a stagnant non-profit salary that has stayed the same for the last 4 years, plus I have to raise it on my own in a shrinking pool of donors.

Heck, I live day by day.  I can handle it.  Hillary is my role model.  She just handles things as they come along.  My heroine for the last 17 years.

Here in Los Angeles it is $3.89 - $3.99.  I have seen many places well over $4 dollars.  You have to search for the stations below $3.99.  Thanks Bush & Friends!

It's nearing $3.75 per gallon for 87 octane where I live and could go up higher at any minute. Today I had to renegotiate a job because the cost of transportation would not be compensated adequately with my normal fee. Strangely the client understood fully where I was coming from. But I was lucky. Most people cannot tell their employers that they need a raise to keep up with the cost of gas and food.

Hillary is right to support a holiday on federal gas taxes. Sure, 18.4 cents per gallon doesn't exactly give you enough money to invest in your future but with the shape of the economy, the rapidly rising costs of fuel and food and the tightening job market, every little bit helps. And just what exactly is Senator Obama offering to help out ordinary Americans except lies about Hillary? What's that? Do I hear crickets?

Your Axelrod rant is well crafted and fully justified. This guy would say or do anything to lie about who and what Obama really stands for. If he would screw Hillary who helped his own child he would screw anyone.

>In your world, your opinion becomes fact.

As opposed to your opinion which is always.... just a poorly sourced opinion.

well, let's look at the time sequence. it was posted at 6PM on firstread. and it was posted six hours earler by.....markos moulitsas! surprise! gee, i wonder where the same false attack came from ;-)

thanks alegre - great diary!

but sorry y'all my price trumps - ready?

$1.22.6 a litre

that equals $5.06 a gallon.

The thing that really gets me pissed off is - does anyone remember Bush giving Gore a hard time about gas prices in Oct of 2000.  It was like $1.80 and Bush was blaming Gore because they were so high.  And then Bush had the nerve to say if he was president and gas prices were high he would use his connections to "jaw down the price of gas".  What a dick.  Bush hasnt done jack about building new refineries, conservation, etc.

There is a lot of talk about what Bush should do when his 2nd term is done.  I have a suggestiong.  He can be president of Iraq because Iraq is the only thing he seems to give a shit about. The sad thing is i dong think he really cares what gas costs he only cares about iraq.

david

Here in Alberta, Canada we're up to just over $4.50 US per US gallon. That's based on $1.22 Canadian / liter.

But I read in the London Times online today that in the U.K., they're up to 5 Pound / imperial gallon. Which, if I've done the conversion right, is around $8.30 US / US gallon.

$4.19 for premium.

Gasoline?
What's that?

Out here in Wyoming we still ride horses.
Their gas is of a different nature.

Out here in Kansas, we're trying to convert our corn into gas. That's not going so well.....

$3.44 here in Hoboken, New Jersey.  Our port access gives use the lowest prices in the country, and we're still hovering at about $3.50!  Unreal!

The OPEC bit is the sort of pablum that only flies because the general public doesn't understand the realities of the current Oil Marketplace: to use a limited and frankly crappy analogy you and your friend Walk into McDonalds and tell them you wont buy a Big Mac unless they cut the price-- they laugh at you, and then sell it to the guy behind you. That's the inlfuence we have on OPEC.

I walk to work, take transit for longer trips, and drive a fuel-efficient car when transit isn't an option.  So I haven't filled the tank in . . . quite a while, come to think of it.

Hillary's plan is pandering.  If the tax were cut, the companies would hike the price to reduce demand to the pre-cut level, thus directing the savings that were to go to the consumer to the companies.

I like the idea of the windfall profit tax in and of itself (which Obama supports, too, apparently), but I'd rather the benefit of that tax go to people who need it - the working class, who I know all Hillary supporters have recently become very concerned about - in the form of a targeted tax cut, refund, rebate, government investment in transit, etc., etc.

As it is, even if this were to work as advertised, it'd be a nice big gift to drivers of Hummers and Suburbans.  Why do they deserve a tax cut?

Gas was $2.00 when this war started.

Just sayin'.

Now wonder Camp Obama doesn't want to debate the issues, they'd rather just lie and attack Hillary without having to answer to those false claims to Hillary's face.

Great post

(Please excuse any misspellings I am not the most coordinated right now).

I don't like the plan to cut the gas tax.  Here in MN we have had a stagnant gas tax and we didn't have enough money to pay for upkeep of our bridges and you know how that is now.  We fought a war (the local democratic party along with conservative groups like the chamber of commerce) to get a slightly higher gas price.  This plan will make a lot of liberals jump to a third party (here in MN).      I don't want anyone else to deal with the aftermath of having a vital link of the transit net broken.  It is tough to get around from point A-B now because of that.  There is now only 1 major bridge over the Mississippi River now.  A traffic accident can now add up to 2 hours to someone's commute.

I think that the windfall tax would be difficult to pass and I don't trust that the money would be put back into maintenance.

Peace from a Minneapolian (formerly of outstate).

you are all in the US.  Those prices would be a godsend.

Here its about $6/gallon....and like everywhere else....rising.

It's between 3.57 and 3.75 where I live. I'm betting today they'll all go up around 3.75 (always when it jumps up it's on a Monday or Tuesday- around 20 cents or more, then goes down about 5 cents at the end of the week) I've learned to fill up my gas tank Sunday afternoon.

The gas holiday idea is not only pandering, it's pandering that has no basis in reality.  We have not built any new refineries in this country for years.  That output is maxed over the summer.  If you cut taxes, that will increase demand for gas which will drive the price right back up to whatever it was before you cut taxes.  So yep, you will basically increase the coffers of the oil companies by cutting gas taxes.  

How Hillary plans to get a windfall profits tax pass Bush's desk is beyond me.  But even if she does get it through both houses of congress and she does get his signature by some miracle, the fact remains that the tax she elminited on gasoline will have already earned the oil companies enough (and possibly more than enough) to cover whatever extra taxes her bill may impose.

I don't even want to begin on her OPEC statement.  As if this country has EVER had any influence on OPEC.

Finally, it is absolutely the wrong approach if you care about the environment.  The population of this country has to make some difficult choices, and oil use is one of them.  I would rather that gas prices stay high and the population move toward more efficient and environmental friendlier (not friendly, but friendlier than the alternative) modes of transportation.  Yes, I know this effects food and goods prices, but I'd rather pain now and better choices in the future than to continually put off making environmentally sound decisions every time our economy slows down.

I'm sorry but I have no sympathy for you. Petrol here in Japan is more the $5 a gallon and has been for quite sometime. Americans seem to think that it is their given right to pay less than the world average for fuel.

So let me get this straight..

Hillary wants to give everyone a 3 month (for this summer) gas tax holiday.. remember the gas tax goes into the road construction/upkeep budget.

Then assuming she got into office.. she would then have to start pushing this windfall tax through the system.

As it would most likely take months if not years of legal wrangling and lobbying by the oil companies not to get taxed.. where does this money come from until Clinton can actually figure out how to squeeze oil rock for money.

Unless the tax on the oil companies comes first.. they will keep the bill to windfall tax them tied up in lobbying and legal discourse for years. Meanwhile while we would get the 18 cent relief for 3 months.. imagine the reaction when that 3 months is over and the prices, which will probably still slowly increase, will suddenly get jacked up  18 cents.

Hillary is trying to convince ppl that she could successfully enact this gas tax holiday w/i the next 2 months (in her current position as senator) BEFORE she has demonstrated any realistic means of getting the oil companies to pay for it.

Remember while she is pushing for the tax holiday this summer.. how exactly is she planning to write up legislation and push this new tax bill through congress in the next 2 months in time for her 3 month summer holiday?
Keep in mind she not only, has only 2 months to get this Holiday approved, while in the midst of the campaign fight of her life, but she also has to prove to the voters she could actually force the oil companies to pay for it after she finally gets into office.

Until she does have a solid provable tax on the oil companies and has that money rolling in to make up the deficit the tax holiday would cause in the transportation budget.. how does she plan to pay for this other then by stripping money from the 1 department that actually uses that tax to repair and maintain roads?

Just like Hillary to have a plan for something which she won't be able to act on until she takes the Oval Office in Jan 2009, but have that plan in place for the Summer driving season of 2008. What does she have some kind of time machine???

You know I got on Obama's case for his lack of clarity on Capital Gains tax. It will be nice to see some Hillary supporters actually show some freaking independent thinking instead of cheerleading each and every scheme that comes out of her mouth. If you want to say that it is important for her to get votes by pandering, at least you will be honest. But to act like this is a  meaningful proposal is silly and downright keeps putting this blog further down the gutter.

Hillary knows she can't get a gas tax this is simply pandering.

do you see all the stuff she says has to happen first? anyone think she is getting the windfall tax past the oil lobbyists before summer?

even BTD at talkleft can see this for what it is, stupid pandering.

but now I really beleive Alegre is a paided blogger for hillary. because no way does anyone write a pro-gax tax holiday, THIS isn't the first time it was brought up, politicans always try and bring this up its stupid, the reason our gas prices go up in the summer is because demand goes up.  lowering prices helps increase demands, and with no actual adding to the supply, well the prices will only just increase again to handle the demand.

It's a hard question to answer. When consumption is down the prices go up because the supply goes down. When prices go up consumption goes down so supplies go down again and prices up even higher. Gas prices don't really equate to going green, just going broke.

In 1970 I bought a brand new Datsun b-210 (now called Nissan). I got 45-50 mpg in town and 60 mpg highway driving- the car cost me brand new $1600. We had that 'technology' in 1970 and now if you want a car that gets that kind of gas mileage you have pay a higher price that most people cannot afford. I now drive a car about the same size as the B-210 and get 30 mpg highway

Of course in 1978 as people were driving smaller cars and getting the technology for improved gas mileage we got the manufactured 'gas shortage' where we lined up in long lines, even numbers on your lic plate one day and odd numbers the next the day. They sold the same amount of gas as any previous time it's just the gas stations were only open for a 2 hour period each day and everyone had to buy gas during that time period which helped create the illusion of the gas shortage...funny how after the oil companies pressured car companies back into making larger and less economical vehicles we had plenty of gas to fill them and plenty of carbon to burn.

This is a horrible idea and I'm not saying this as an Obama supporter. If he was pushing this I'd call him out on it too.

It makes no economic sense and serves no purpose other than to trick naive people into believing she will actually do something.

First of all, she has absolutely no power to do anything about it for this summer. So at the start it's nothing but a hypothetical dream world.

Secondly, anyone who took Econ 101 knows that demand will rise sharply and overnight the prices will be right back where they were before. So the hypothetical dream world would only last for about a day until the market corrects.

Thirdly, eliminating this tax takes away from road maintenance and construction, which is a huge issue anyways.

I hate high gas prices as much as anyone, but this is not a realistic nor advisable solution.

Like I said above, I hate the gas prices as much as anyone.

But, I'm willing to watch gas go up to $5.00/gal if it means that this country will give a real, authentic push towards finding other solutions.

It amazes me that in 1903 the Wright Brothers flew a glorified glider and only 66 years later we were flying and landing on the moon. Yet we are using essentially the same engine that was used in the 1800s.

There is absolutely no reason why things can't change. That's why I like it when Obama talks about having a "Manhattan project"-like program to solve the problem.

Help Sen. Clinton!   Help please!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hazTkTvd6 5c

There is no possible way that this could get pushed through congress and through the inevitable (possibly line-item) veto of Bush.  The president would ensure that no extra tax of the oil companies that are his family's bread and butter is enforced.

The money would end up coming out of the road construction fund, and more roads would go unrepaired.  Perhaps more bridges would collapse.

There's a reason that Clinton is aligned with John McCain on this one.

Hillary: Once again following McCain.

18 cents at the pump. Less than the increase in price over the past two weeks. Whoopee!

The NY Times:

The impression that Mr. McCain's tax talk is all about pandering is reinforced by his pr