Politicians like handing out other people’s money. They like it so much, in fact, we’re seeing near double-digit record inflation because of the amount of money floating around the economy. None of that seems to matter as at least one state is proposing a gas price stimulus check, and ideas are now floating around Congress for some kind of ongoing gas price relief.
The answer, naturally, should be about domestic energy production and ensuring that America has a reliable and affordable source of fuel based on domestic production, or at least production from friendly neighbors like Canada.
Instead of fixing the problem, some politicians want to start handing out monopoly money again:
Some proposals include a stimulus check while others would tax oil companies.
One proposal comes from Reps. Mike Thompson of California, John Larson of Connecticut, and Lauren Underwood of Illinois.
The congressional lawmakers propose the Gas Rebate Act of 2022 where Americans would get an energy rebate of $100 per month (and $100 for each dependent) for the rest of 2022 in any month where the national average gas prices exceed $4.00 per gallon.
“Americans are feeling the impact at the pump of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and right now we must work together on commonsense policy solutions to ease the financial burden that my constituents are feeling,” Thompson said in a news release.
Actually, Thompson’s constituents are feeling the impact of Joe Biden’s energy and economic policies which were killing the American economy long before Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine sending energy prices into a tailspin. The root cause is not Putin, it’s Biden’s policy of hating the oil and natural gas industry.
Thompson’s proposal would send out checks of $100 a month to each taxpayer, and $100 for each dependent, as long as gas remains above $4.00 per gallon on average. The arbitrary nature of this is amusing. $4.00 a gallon is a hardship, according to Thompson, but $3.90 a gallon is fine. When filling up a 20-gallon tank, the difference between those prices is $2.00 overall. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, just a number an economically-challenged politician picked out of thin air.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom is going even further to buy votes–excuse me–ease pressure on gas prices:
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday released the long-awaited details of his tax refund plan to send $400 to Californians for each registered vehicle, a move that would put more money in the pockets of families who own more cars — even the state’s highest-income residents — and exclude those without cars from receiving the payments.
That’s a $400 check for each registered vehicle, capped at $800, of course, since people like Jay Leno would walk away with a small fortune.
For the average two-car family, that’s an $800 stimulus check to eas pressure on gas prices. Of course, California could just try to perhaps lower their tax burden overall, or lower their state tax on gasoline which accounts for the cost of over $1.00 of each gallon, but that’s not as sexy as politicians straight-up handing out free money.
Make no mistake, of course, this is anything but free money. It’s your money if you pay taxes, and it’s being taken by politicians who produce nothing and repurposed to hand out to other people. It’s a shell game of taking your money, then giving it back to you and pretending it’s new money.
In Maryland, for example, the state legislature and Gov. Larry Hogan agreed on a 30-day suspension of the state gas tax which created an instant reduction of 36 cents per gallon. It’s not going to make anyone a millionaire, but at least it’s immediate and direct assistance to drivers without sending out checks.
Among the various proposals, gas tax holidays seem to be the most popular and prudent compared to sending out new stimulus checks. The economy has been in constant upheaval and dropping millions of dollars into the mix has only driven up inflation and the cost of labor exponentially.
Reason magazine correctly points out that handing out stimulus money or even gas cards, as the Biden administration considered, is like pouring gasoline on the inflation fire:
But handing out government money to thwart high gas prices is like—pardon the pun—pouring gasoline on a fire. More government spending means more inflation. More consumers getting “free gas” means more gas purchases and, again, more inflation. Besides, the plan would be hard to target toward people who really need the help and not all sorts of people who can afford the higher prices and/or don’t buy much or any gas. And it would be hard to prevent fraud.
Politicians need to stop sending stimulus checks and start reducing the overall tax burden on citizens. Stop taking more from producers to buy votes, it’s that simple.
