Democratic Candidates on the Price of Gas: I'm Not Making This Up!

He's also the only candidate who supports a radical restructuring of the tax code, in the form of the FairTax (essentially a 30% sales tax, the only exception being for businesses buying inputs, along with reimbursing individuals and households for the taxes levied on their spending up to the poverty level, or maybe a little higher). It would shrink the number of tax payers from every income- or wage-earning adult to only registered businesses, radically decreasing the size of the tax-collecting agency, eliminating any burden at all on non-business-owning individuals to file taxes, and eliminating tax loopholes that make it impossible for the average citizen to really understand how much of the nation's wealth is being taxed.

The Dodd quote sounds perfectly reasonable: A carbon tax would increase gas price and encourage alternative fuel development.

Where did he say that the carbon tax would cut the price of gas?

I don't understand his rebate idea, however.

How about Mike Gravel and Ron Paul run together? It'll be the Crazy Old Men Saner Than Everyone Else In The Room ticket.

There's something pretty inauthentic about Wolf Blitzer whining about the price of gasoline. And there would seem to be something rather presumptuous about assuming that it is desirable in the wider context of things to minimize the price of gas. But that's what Dems face and the audience they play to. Partisan Dems are infuriated that gas is so expensive now. The interesting thing about the jawboning approach is that if it actually worked, it would set up an interesting problem for the grass roots. Are they OK with paying more for gas so long as it goes to the government? Libertarian sensibilities come into play there, and the Dems leave themselves wide open to the charge of not actually solving the problem (high gas prices) with their tax and spend schemes.

The solace I take in Wolf Blitzer asking such inane questions is remembering 13 years ago when I denied him entrance to a VIP bathroom and made him leave a secure area to take care of his business.

How about taxing those states that do not produce oil and gas? So, if you don't produce enough oil & gas for your own state, then you owe Texas & Louisiana monies to help clean up their state for the sacrifice they make for the nation.

Their answers sucked, but they were being asked a loaded question.

Gravel doesn't give a hoot if his answers make him unpopular, so he calls out the loaded question and answers his own. Good for him.

Sure, we need gas to be more expensive, but who in either party has the cajones to actually say that to the voters?

I live in Bill Richardson's state (NM), and I have never heard anyone call it the Clean Energy State. Perhaps the Dept. of Energy Grand Pork Barrel State (2, count 'em, 2 National Labs: Sandia and Los Alamos), where they study the hell out of the problem. But no actual clean energy. In fact, I think the Navajo Nation is working on a new coal-fired plant. Richardson is the beneficiary of Gov. Gary "Dr. No" Johnson, who vetoed every spending bill that came his way and left one of only two states with a budget surplus following the 2000 recession. Richardson is also the beneficiary of rising oil prices and therefore increased excise tax receipts.

The purpose of the question was to give the candidates the chance to be honest. Gravel was.
I have heard someone seriously suggest that we should impeach President Bush because of the high price of gasoline. I hope my friend pays attention to what the democrats are proposing.