Gas Tax Rebuttal

[sandnsea]

I haven't seen this posted. Thought it might help.

“The Bush Campaign is playing fast and loose with the facts. John Kerry never introduced, co-sponsored or passed a fifty-cent gas tax. But George Bush’s Vice-President introduced a bill that would have cost drivers $1.2 trillion if it had been enacted. And Ashcroft, Ridge, Thompson, and even one of Bush’s top economic advisers all either tried to – or actually did -- raise gas taxes. If George Bush spent as much time attacking gas prices as he did attacking John Kerry, maybe drivers would finally get some relief from these sky-high prices.”
- Kerry Spokesperson Chad Clanton

Dick Cheney: $1.2 Trillion Tax Hike

What It Would Cost American Consumers: $1.2 Trillion Since 1986
What Cheney Said About It: “Let Us Rid Ourselves of The Fiction That Low Oil Prices Are Somehow Good for the United States.”
In October 1986, then Representative Cheney introduced legislation to create a new import tax that would have increased the price of oil and ultimately the price of gasoline by $1.2 trillion, according to a study by the Congressional Research Service, in coordination with staffers from the Senate Energy Committee.

John Ashcroft: 55% Gas Tax Hike

What Ashcroft Said About It: “The Great Economic Development Tool of the Decade”
On February 20, 1992, then-Missouri Governor John Ashcroft signed a law to raise the state gas tax by 6 cents per gallon over four years, a 55% increase over the current 11-cent-per-gallon tax. The full increase would cost the average driver about 90 cents a week, or $46.80 per year. On signing the bill, Ashcroft “hailed” it as “the great economic development tool of the decade.”

Mike Leavitt: 39% Gas Tax Hike

What Leavitt Said About It: “Will It Be Worth It? Absolutely.”
On December 19, 1996, then-Utah Governor Mike Leavitt proposed a 7.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax hike, a 39% increase over the current 19-cent-per-gallon tax. During his State of the State address a month later Leavitt said, “Will it be easy? No. Will it be pleasant? No. Will it be worth it? Absolutely.”

Tom Ridge: 29% Gas Tax Hike

What Ridge Said About It: “We Must Have the Courage” to Raise the Gas Tax
On March 11, 1996, then-Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge proposed a 6.5-cent-per-gallon increase to the state’s 22.35-cent gas tax, making it the third-highest in the country. The hike would cost a typical Pennsylvania driver about 64 cents a week, or more than $33 a year. Ridge said the tax increase was his “last choice,” but told Pennsylvanians “we must have the courage to pursue this final option.”

Tommy Thompson: 23% Gas Tax Hike

What Thompson Said About It: “That’s the Price You’re Going to Have to Pay”
On March 7, 1995, then-Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson proposed a 5.3-cent-per-gallon “oil company franchise fee.” Wisconsin’s gas tax would rise by 23% under Thompson’s plan and cost motorists up to $58 more each year. The Wisconsin State Journal wrote that “even if gasoline costs more at the pump, Thompson said, ‘that's the price you're going to have to pay for a modern transportation system.’”

Gregory Mankiw: 50 Cent Gas Tax

What Mankiw Said About It: “This may be the closest thing to a free lunch that economics has to offer.”
In the May 24, 1999 issue of Fortune magazine, Gregory Mankiw, President Bush’s Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, argued that a 50 cent gas tax is a necessary component of income tax cuts. He explained that “cutting income taxes along with increasing gasoline taxes would lead to more rapid economic growth… This may be the closest thing to a free lunch that economics has to offer.”

[Lefty48197]

1. Excellent post!

Thank you. Bookmarking.

[sandnsea]

2. D-Bunker

Meant to post the link. It's excellent and full of facts.

http://blog.johnkerry.com/dbunker/