Washington Bureau

Obama Drags N.C. Gov. Easley into the Gas Tax Fight

Several key Democratic leaders and energy economists are convinced that Sen. Hillary Clinton's proposed gas tax cut will do nothing to actually lower the price of gasoline. The economic explanation is a bit complex, but essentially they say that the tight supply of oil would allow oil companies to pretty much immediately raise the price back to the same level as before the cut. The tax money that would have gone to the federal government would instead go to oil companies. (Clinton wants to impose a windfall profit tax on oil companies to make up for that loss, but regardless, economists say, the price of gasoline will stay relatively unchanged, or drop a small percentage of the 18.4 cent tax rate).

Still, her plan has proved politically popular with working class voters. But the chorus of elected officials denouncing a gas tax cut has intensified and, embarrassingly for Clinton, includes one of her key supporters in North Carolina -- Gov. Mike Easley, sort of. Last year, at a time when North Carolina was considering capping or cutting the gas tax or sales tax to provide relief to consumers, Easley was quoted in the Charlotte Observer calling a gas tax cut "a subsidy to big oil companies."

Naturally, Easley says he is supportive of Clinton's plan now, promoting it as he has travelled the state with her. But that hasn't stopped the Obama campaign from using his words against her in an ad that went up today. Here's the ad:



--Sean Mussenden



  1. Obama doing another one his hopey-changey things by misrepresenting Hillary's position. She certainly does have a detailed specific more aggressive long term energy plans. But she also feels that if the government can bail out big corporations, they should be helping the working class too. It's 18 1/2 %. That's $3 a tank. Don't use Obama's fake numbers.
    Posted by on 05/05 at 02:10 PM
  2. McCain's is a subsidy to the oil companies --Hillary's plan requires the oil companies to pay for the tax by disgorging their obscene profits.
    Posted by on 05/05 at 02:11 PM
  3. As a scientist, I am supporting Hillary Clinton because of her problem-solving based approach to addressing our country's problems. After eight years of Bush's politicization of science, Clinton will finally restore integrity to science policy. She will increase the basic research budgets 50% over 10 years at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the Defense Department. With this goal in mind, it surprises me that the gas tax question has taken center stage (when both candidates consider it a short-term approach), while little discussion has taken place regarding the long-term plan.

    Clinton proposes to establish a $50-billion Strategic Energy Fund, which would finance an energy research agency that gathers the best minds from academia, the private sector, and government to devise ways to make the United States energy independent and reduce the threat of global warming. Oil companies would have the choice of either investing in alternative energy or contributing a portion of their earnings into the Fund. The Fund would also provide tax incentives for homeowners and businesses to make their houses and offices more energy efficient; provide gas station owners a tax credit for installing E85 (ethanol) pumps; provide loan guarantees for the commercialization of cellulosic biofuels; and provide incentives for the development of new technologies that contribute to a cleaner environment.

    Even though Clinton often speaks of these plans, in depth, the American public and the media seem intent on focusing the discussion on the more trivial aspect of her plan, the summer gas tax holiday, rather than recognizing its short-term role in her larger plan for moving America towards energy independence. With soaring gas prices, and no relief in sight, we should move away from the "personality issues" concerning the candidates' positions on the gas tax holiday and take a more global view of the energy problems facing our nation.
    Posted by on 05/06 at 05:44 AM
    4. Page 1 of 1 pages

Registration Required

MGWashington.com requires that you be logged in in order to post comments. Please log in or register to leave your comment.

Next entry: It's Official: John and Elizabeth Edwards Won't Endorse Clinton or Obama

Previous entry: Economists: Gas tax cut won't save money. Voters: Whatever.

<< Back to main


-- Advertisement --