Gas tax holiday is a horrible, no good idea

Please America. Do not be fooled by the bread and circuses.

When I first read "gas tax holiday" I thought it meant that we were going to be celebrating the gas tax; an idea that I found rather odd. But now, as I understand it, both Clinton and McCain are suggesting that the gas tax be cut for the summer. While the extra $28 dollars that is likely to result sure sounds nice, this is a really really bad idea.

First, Econ 101. A reduction in taxes will result in lower prices for consumers AND increase the amount of money oil producers will receive. Remember those big bad oil companies that Clinton says she hates? Well, they'll actually benefit from this because they will receive more money for more sales of gasoline.

A related issue is that this will result in more gasoline being consumed, which will result in more pollutants in our air. Hardly what we want these summer months.

Second, the gas tax goes goes into a Highway Trust Fund that (is already in the red) is used for infrastructure construction and repair. This will mean that there will be $9 billion less available for highway repair and maintenance (or actually, $9billion less to pay back the bonds that have already been issued to fund the infrastructure costs). Watch out for those potholes while you're using your barely cheaper gas. Doesn't anyone remember the bridge collapse in Minnesota?

Third, this is exactly the kind of short term thinking that has gotten us into trouble in the first place, and is nothing but political pandering to those most desperate. You want to help low income people with long commutes? Invest in better roads, more public transportation, or at the very least, give these people direct rebates so that the oil companies don't make even more money.

No economist is in favor of this proposal because it sucks is bad policy. When Clinton could not name an economist in favor of this policy, she said that the economists were the "elite opinion."

Does anyone else get the feeling that "elite" has started to mean "smart and well-thought out"?

Dear politicians and members of the media,

Hi. I'm from San Francisco. Well, not originally. Originally, I am from a very small rural town in Eastern California. It is a town built for tourists generally; but a lot of the people who live there are of the cowboy/ranching/general shit-kicking type; the kind that brag about what zone they got for their deer tags.

I would stop short of going to the rodeo, but I did often go to local fairs and gander at the contemporary equivalent of Zuckerman's famous pig. It was a fine place to grow up, but at an early age, I knew it wasn't my scene.

Most of the people who live in San Francisco are from somewhere else. I can only think of two people I know who can actually say they are "from" San Francisco. Drawn by the culture, weather (ha ha), politics, or some mixture, most people who live here have generally chosen to live here. Some of them are from big cities. Some of them are from little towns like me. Some of my friends here are from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Ohio.

I live here because of the culture, the city's proximity to some amazing places (Yosemite, Napa/Sonoma Wine Country, Big Sur, Stinson Beach), and I like the city's general mellow, tolerant, and laid-back attitude.

I won't lie. I'm a liberal. I would venture to say very liberal by most people's standards, at least as far as social issues go. Compared to others in SF, I would probably be considered just sort of liberal. But I like living in a city that prides itself on being progressive, even when I don't necessarily agree with all of it.

But to the extent that people call San Francisco a "bubble," I must vehemently disagree.

Gas prices near my house are now $4.17/gallon, compared to a national average of $3.47. I'm not going to even bring up property prices or rent here. Ok maybe I will. My roommate and I pay over $2k a month for a very small 2 bedroom. Owning property here is not really ever in the cards for me. I have been held-up at gunpoint. Our public transportation system is severely lacking. Some of our neighborhoods are downright scary, and some of that is because shipping yards and other businesses have shut down or left town.

In sum, San Francisco, like other cities, has its share of problems and it is in no way immune or impervious to the economic shocks than others. Sure, we're liberal, but other than that, we are just like everyone else.

And just like you, I like where I live. I'm proud of my city, and I don't like people bad-mouthing it.

So to all of you politicians and members of the media who like to throw my city's name around whenever they want to really emphasize that someone is "elitist," maybe you should think about the real out-of-touch bubble that is Capital Hill before you start badgering us. Especially when a certain other democratic candidate also just had a closed-door fund raiser here herself.

Well, I was trying to find a link, but can't. Hillary Clinton was in the building next door to where I work a couple of weeks ago.