(NewsGlobal.com)- Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) shot down the idea of suspending federal gas taxes to help people cope with rising gas prices on Thursday.
In principle, Pelosi said, the concept sounds tempting, which several Democrats have suggested in recent weeks. However, she claims that it will not benefit customers in the long run since oil corporations are not compelled to pass on the savings.
Furthermore, suspending the gas tax would deprive the Highway Trust Fund of its principal source of revenue, which is used to fund roads and public transportation.
“The pro is very showbiz. ‘OK, let’s just do something, there it is.’ But it is not necessarily landing in the pocket of the consumer,” Pelosi said at a press conference in the Capitol.
She proposed that refunds or direct payments to customers would be more successful in relieving Americans from the rising gasoline expense.
“How do we help people directly?” she asked.
Her idea was more in lockstep with how the left likes to be perceived. Suspending the gas tax would, indeed, take the monies from the Trust Fund, but It would be better to hand direct payments to the people. One could simply make payments back to the trust fund, but you don’t buy votes that way.
It’s all optics. If you simply lower prices by removing the gas tax, there is no “showbiz.” The left always wants to create the illusion that they are giving you money, money that is yours in the first place.
On Thursday, the Biden administration stated that it is planning the largest-ever release of oil from strategic reserves in the United States, with an average of 1 million barrels per day for the next six months.
The Biden administration imposed an embargo on Russian oil imports, resulting in a reduction in total supplies. The government is also putting more pressure on oil corporations to increase output in federal areas where drilling licenses have been granted but not yet used.
Some local lawmakers have taken initiatives to assist people and help cope with rising gas costs on their own.
This week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) revealed that the city would use a lottery method to make prepaid gas and public transportation cards available to select citizens.
Optics!
Last Monday, California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom, Pelosi’s nephew through marriage, suggested direct payments of $400 per car to homeowners and subsidies to encourage public transportation companies to provide free transportation for three months.
Why not remove the gas tax?
