Latest Bad Idea From The NYT: Tax Gas Till It Costs $4-5

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I'm starting to think the New York Times is rolling out a year-ending Worst Ideas of 2008 list—with a twist. Instead of knocking the nutty notions, the Gray Lady's embracing them.

Yesterday, as I noted in Union Got To Be Kidding Me, the Times came out against border fences and for the right of illegal immigrants . . . to form unions.

Today, in The Gas Tax, the paper editorializes in favor of taxing gasoline so that it would never cost less than $4-5/gallon.  Yup: the Times wants to snuff out the only silver lining on the economic downturn.

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The idea is to force us to buy the highly fuel-efficient cars that Pres.-elect Obama and the Dem congress want to force Detroit to build. Ever the progressives, the paper proposes that "the fuel taxes could be offset with tax credits to protect vulnerable segments of the population."  Gas rises to $5: women, minorities hardest hit!

The Times pays lip service to the fact that "a bitter recession is not the most opportune time to ratchet up the price of energy."  But it wants the Obama administration to start planning now to ratchet up the price of gas when the recession ends.  Right.  What better way to choke off a recovery than by doubling the cost of energy?

Could the Obama administration actually take up the Times's idea?  Doesn't seem impossible. Back in June, as gas prices were hitting their peak, candidate Obama seemed to agree that high gas prices could help us.  His only beef: "I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment."  Thanks.

Go ahead, make our day.  Propose minimum $4-5/gallon gas during the first 100 days.  Mid-term elections are less than two years away.

Let's see what the Times has on its Worst Ideas We Love list tomorrow.  Any predictions?

NOTE: It gets worse.  Steven Chu, the man Pres.-elect Obama has nominated as Energy Secretary recently and explicitly came out for raising taxes to push gas prices to European levels. Forget $4-5—we're talking $8-9/gallon.   [H/t FReeper Entrepreneur.]

From the Wall Street Journal, December, 12, 2008:

In a sign of one major internal difference, Mr. Chu has called for gradually ramping up gasoline taxes over 15 years to coax consumers into buying more-efficient cars and living in neighborhoods closer to work.

"Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," Mr. Chu, who directs the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in September.

—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.

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Wasn't the NYT among those

Wasn't the NYT among those saying that President Bush should "do something!!" about gas over $4 a gallon not long ago?

In fact, Joe Biden spoke of talking to a motorist in a gas station and asking him how much it cost him to fill up his car.  He replied (paraphrasing) I don't know, I can never afford to fill it all the way up!

And the people who were giving up other things, sometimes even breakfast, will be fine now????

Oh, I get it; it all depends on whose pocket it's going into. 

Bailout some more

That's right, raise taxes so the people that can't afford a new car will be most hardest hit. Oh, what's that you say, Obama is going to give them a new eco-fuel car? I guess some of Oprah rubbed off on him. Looks like the old Gray Lady is trying to end the year (probably her last year) with a bang.

Slap...slap...slap. That's

Slap...slap...slap.

That's the sound of the MSM, especially the NYT, as they slap Americans in the face daily with every treasonous, dishonest, insulting, and outrageous piece of swill they print.

Liberals may be in the MSM driver's seat now, but thanks to NB and the weight of their own hypocrisy, more balanced reporting and more conservative voices will take their place.

LIBERALS LIE, ALL THE TIME, ABOUT EVERYTHING.

greasy Joe

that was yesterday, not today.  Do what I say now, not what I said to get elected.

 

Lying, thieving bastards, all of them.

Taxes

Raise taxes on gas/oil and what happens? Everything costs more. Everything. Who is hardest hit? The least among us. NYT the champion of . . . . Big Government and Big Taxes. Screw the little guy.

Just had a thought, add $5 to the cost per issue of the NYT and give that $5 to the Government. Good idea NYT??

D

Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.

Good idea

but then even the libs on the Upper West Side wouldn't buy their rag.

However, I think you're on to something. Let's put a tax on everything the left supports and then maybe we can get back to some kind of normalcy in this country.

And the NYT wonders why

And the NYT wonders why their readership and advertising revenues are down.  It's nothing but a left wing nut rag!!!

Taxes

 

 I think we should levy a BS tax on the MSM. $1.00 per article for everytime they try to rewrite history. 

Wake up true americans

 

 Remember when the DNC was getting their gas tax free in Co. 

It "IS" what it "IS" Socialism

I don't know why someone doesn't come up with a color coded system for the opinoin writers, and so called reporters for the NYT. I would use all different shades of RED and PINK. When they post one of these "Collectivist" manifestos, the readers could have a "key legend" to refer to so they could consider just how big a "Pinko" the writer of the article "IS" Gives a new meaning to "consider the source"

The old saying only believe half of what you read in print, and question the rest- plus a color coded reading aide...I watched the you tube video "How Obama Got Elected" These folks need Reading Aides..I think color coding the NYT writers for them would be a start, and who knows maybe when the Powers that Be at the Times, see their lack of varying hues, they will employ some writers for "diversity" They can fill out their Rainbow Agenda. To say that Progressives are intolerant "IS" redundant. The economy is in terrible shape right now because of the "Progressive" infulence in our country...It "IS" what it "IS"

 

 

For Example Color this Opinion Writer "Fuschia"

America You are Stupid if You Don't Agree with Me...yes he thinks that is "Objective" not "Subjective"

http://www.nytimes.c...

<sound of duct tape being ripped off roll>

Just when you think Bob Herbert can't get any more "out there" he exceeds your expectations.

Let's see...the current crisis was caused by "easy credit" and spending "money that wasn't there."

So what is his solution? He admits that it is to spend more "money that isn't there." 

But this time we will spend it on universal health care, throwing more (useless) money at education, and "caring for the environment."

 

Colors

While we're at it lets change the political map colors to what they truly represent; Red= Democrat, True Blue= Republican.

 

Who decided that Red was to indicate GOP anyway?

I'm convinced that that was

I'm convinced that that was a conscious decision by the media to avoid linking Democrats to the Communists.  I remember NBC in the '70s and '80s used to designate Republican victories with blue and Democrat victories with red.

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan

fitzfong.blogspot.com

→ NYT = Obama plan

Anybody remember when gas prices were over $4 and Obama said he would rather prices did not rise this quickly?

Obama's dying to get his Smeagol claws on the differential between now, and then.

  • LYDSEXICS UNTIE!

American Reveloution

 

  It's time for another boston tea party.

 

 Remember the bridge to nowhere in Alaska at 300 Mil

 Then there was the Big Leaky Killer Dig in Boston for 15 Billion. Oh yea I forgot that was Kerry and Kennedys work.

 Don't forget the 40 Billion monorail Reid wants to build from Vegas to Cal E Fornikate   They need more tax dollars

  Let them do it.  Then

  Let them do it.  Then all the Republicans have to do is run on promises to lower the gas tax.

I hope the Obamaroids do propose a massive tax on gasoline...

...because its going to be big fun watching the wretched idiots running all-out for the tall grass when the feces impacts the impeller.

I can't think of anything that would do more damage to an already fragile economy than to artificially cause the price Americans pay at the pump to suddenly increase at such a huge rate.

Don't the mindless morons at the NYT realize that the high prices at the pump over the summer are a big reason why this economy is in the shape it is in?

-Dave

If Obama raised gas taxes to $4 a Gallon he will be impeached

I hope he is this dumb.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution

Impeached?  More like

Impeached?  More like assassinated. 

High gas prices represent a large segment of his 'Hope and Change' crowd.  When these people find out what he really means to do about high gas prices, that is,make them permanent, they will turn on him. 

Uhmm, the way it will go

Uhmm, the way it will go down is Obama will get accolades for raising the gas tax, he will be touted as having the courage to do the "right" thing and half the public (the ones who voted for him) will say this is the change they wanted to see because he did "something".  The rest of us will grouse and say just you wait, within two years most of us will be unemployed or working a WPA job digging holes.  Come 2010, Obama and the Dems will say we are trying everything humanly possible, the right is just being critical and they were the ones who got us in the mess in the first place (lying of course), you can't fault us for trying after all the Repubs said to do NOTHING.  So who are the 50% plus one going to vote for????  MORE Democrats.  Sorry NL, idoicy is part of the A.D.D. condition the public is afflicted with at this time.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.

dscott/Tar Sands

dscott...

I agree...I've already heard here and there in the msm on a variety of different shows the hopes, encouragement for the left starting with O to raise the gas taxes, which we all know he desires...the msm will protect/defend to the end....

I just hope what happens to the msm and congress in two years down the road if this is done, (among other things most likely to come down the road in the meantime) the House and Senate get slapped in the face with shock when they are all voted out...and repubs pick up a majority like they did in 1994...

I will never forget the shock from the msm...especially Judy Woodruff...

Talk about priceless...

By the way this is something I just read this morning, the greenies are at it again...the tar sands must be stopped too...it's a pretty good article, infuriating, but we know all production of any kind is going to be stopped, if there's a will for the left...there is always a way.

"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh

Dan,

Sadly, I agree with you.

-Dave

Just following Biden's lead

The Grey Lady is taking a page from the V.P. elect...don't you all remember that he said it's patriotic to pay more taxes?  This is just the beginning.

Republicans believe every day is the 4th of July.  Democrats believe every day is April 15th ~ Ronald Reagan

And don't forget what Rahm

And don't forget what Rahm Emanuel said:

"Guess what. We have a lot more challenges. We are going to need a lot to do it. 

That only means one thing...

...Ka-ching!

Republicans believe every day is the 4th of July.  Democrats believe every day is April 15th ~ Ronald Reagan

This kind of crap is one of the main reasons I am a libertarian.

I do not like the idea of government busy-body social engineers using tax policy to manipulate behavior in any way. This is not the proper role of government.

Too bad the majority of the American sheeple haven't caught on to this lunacy yet, and given the results of the last election, I am not sure they ever will.

-Dave

Dave, and they still haven't

Dave, and they still haven't mastered the "law of unintended consequences."  They think that taxing something doesn't affect behavior.

mb,

Exactly, like back when the congressional geniuses hit yachts with huge luxury tax increases. After all, they were going to "stick it" to the rich guy, and buy a few votes along the way from idiot Americans who were dumb enough to buy into their scheme.

Only problem was, the only people who got poked were the people who worked to build the yachts that stopped selling almost overnight, and most of them soon lost their jobs.

Just about every time the government promises to soak the "rich guy," its the rest of us who end up getting hosed.

-Dave

A Dangerous Idea

The problem with that idea is that the $2.50 - $3.50 tax per gallon will be quickly earmarked for government projects such as national health care or the farcical global warming. If fuel prices rise naturally, those tax profits would disappear and will have to come from somewhere else.

Do we then raise the arbitrary minimum ceiling on gasoline to $7 or $8 a gallon?

The NY Times needs to save a tree and shut it's doors now.

Ever The Progressives

Yes, the NYT is ever progressive. Progressive is Marxist spelled with a P.

Taxes

Come on! Get in on it. Get a gov'ment yob and Uncle Sam will pay your bills, educate you, give you health care, etc. Oh, those who run the show will take a big chunk ( didn't the Clintons make a hundred mil or so, and aren't Barry and "Never So Proud" Michelle already coming away with their pockets bursting? ), but who is counting? Taxation without representation is tyranny--- but only for hard-working Americans. What?-- you have no experience with this sort of con? Not to worry. I've heard there's a video that will teach you how to whine and claim "rights" which aren't even in the Constitution. I say again--get a gov'ment yob. Little or no work, plenty of benefits. All you have to lose is your self-respect, true freedom, and your dignity. But think of all the "liberals" who'll feel sorry for you (and contol your life). An American named Emerson once wrote an essay tiltled "Self-Reliance". Read it and weep for our nation.

 "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your own heart, is true for all men--- that is genius....no kernel of nourishing corn an come to him but through his toil ...trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string...."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, circa 1840.

 

 

NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"

  How about a hefty tax on

  How about a hefty tax on newspapers considering they have a huge carbon footprint?

democrats propose to raise

democrats propose to raise taxes as their first instinct.  Their only answer is to raise taxes, no matter what it is.

Did anyone catch the oil company CEO's on CSPAN getting thanks for lowering gas prices from the senate panel that grilled them earlier in the year?  You didn't?

I'll be durned.  Yeah, raise the taxes, raise 'em on up!  I suggest you start in NYC then spread along the East Coast first.  Then blame the oil company's again. 

I honestly think this congress and senate may just be the dumbest SOB's ever assembled in one area in our history.  I may be wrong, but I doubt it.

NYT -- Retards. There's

NYT -- Retards. There's simply no other way to describe them.

...and The New York Times

...and The New York Times takes another dose of arsenic, well on their way to committing suicide... 

The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.

Fair Tax Fair Tax Fair Tax

The time is quickly approaching for the groundswell to take over this country and go to the Fair Tax.  It takes the power out of DC and puts it back in our hands.  These Elite idiots on both sides do not care about us they just want to control how we live through taxes and legislation...ie they will not repeal the second amendment they will just tax ammunition so we cannot afford to own a gun because the ammo is so expensive. 

Soon the tax man will be coming around and we will all just give him the finger.

Oh no not the Unfair Tax

I'll pass on more government welfar (prebate checks)

Fair Tax, Flawed Tax (The Wall Street Journal)
Just how Fair is the 'FairTax'? (Money Magazine)
The Fair Tax Fraud (Ludwig von Mises Institute)
Unspinning the FairTax (FactCheck.org)

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution

Gee, PopTech, I never took you for a statist...

...longing for the continued existence of the most oppressive, confiscatory government agency since the Gestapo, the IRS.

And besides, we certainly wouldn't want to take any power away from those congress critters, now would we? After all, they are doing such a stellar job of managing our tax dollars, aren't they?

Sure, lets just continue on the path we are currently going down, allowing the federal government to dig ever deeper into our personal incomes. Hell, if things continue as they are, pretty soon we won't have to worry about it anymore, anyway.

BTW-That load of manure you linked to above has been pretty much countered and debunked in this book.

You should read it. Who knows? You might even learn something.

No, the FairTax is not perfect, but it is a damn sight better than the current system, which is leading this country straight to the edge of the abyss, and the IRS is leading the way.

The positives of the FairTax far outweigh the negatives.

-Dave

Nothing like Fair Tax propaganda for the naive

The Fair Tax is an idiotic proposal that creates more not less government. Right, the Prebate Checks AKA Welfare is not debunked in the book it is offered as the "solution" for those at low income levels who would not be able to buy anything anymore because of the outrageous sales tax AKA "fair tax". The fair tax was a stupid proposal when I heard it the first time and even worse when Neal "explained" it.

I am not going to learn anything from the attorney Neal Bortz or pastor Mike Huckabee on economics.

There is No Such Thing as a Fair Tax (Ludwig von Mises Institute)

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution

PopTech, how, exactly, does the FT create more government?

By your response, it is clear that you know little or nothing about the FairTax plan itself, and probably even less about the embedded taxes you are already paying for everything you buy.

And as for the prebate, we are already forking that out in the form of the Earned Income Tax Credit (talk about welfare), which is going to remain in place as long as our current tax system does. As will the hideous IRS.

Why not get rid of both at the same time?

And for your information, neither Neal Boortz nor Huckabee had anything at all to do with the plan itself.

Nothing.

It was developed over many years due to the work of a hell of a lot of people who were first charged with trying to figure out a way to make a flat tax work. They eventually figured out that a flat tax was unworkable and that a national sales tax was a far better option.

Congressman John Linder has been working on the legislation for years.

-Dave

I don't support welfare and I don't support the unFairTax

Prebate checks are welfare because supporters of the unfair tax know that low income people will not be able to afford to buy anything under it. Once people learn the truth about the unFair Tax they will never support it.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution

Sure, Why Not?

I'll use my depleted discretionary spending on important things other than my NYT subscription. Not that I have one, but I'm sure many others who do have one and are hit with this tax would look for ways to cut their expenses. Goodbye NYT, 2009 will be a farewell year for you.

I hope they do this!

I hope they do this, cause if they do Republicans will have a great midterm election. All of the blind sheep who fell for the Democrat's lies about being for the lower and middle class will wake up and revolt, that is if they can afford to drive to the polling place. Republicans best friend is that almost no sane voter believes that higher taxes are the answer, to anything.

It is unfortunate

That to get rid of these bums some terrible things will have to be done by them to warrant them being thrown out of office in the next elections. If they do nothing or not much our side will not gain anything and may lose more. It is going to take a lot of socialist stupidity on their part and a lot of hurt on our part to change this political landscape quickly. 

Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster

It will have to take a

It will have to take a significant amount of more economic pain before a majority of people reject the stupidity of the Dem Party as they did when they had their fill of Jimmy Carter.  I sadly agree, it will take the full implementation of the Dem loon's policy to drive the economy totally back into the crapper once they get their beloved gas tax. If the general public is so gullible to believe the architects of the mortgage meltdown instead of the facts before the election, then only prolonged economic pain will open their eyes.  How many money making scams will it take before people realize the lib Dems are just about enriching themselves????  I'm continually amazed that people are so gullible.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.

While i hate the high cost

While i hate the high cost of gas i also hate the fact that the recent low prices have stopped any discussion of new fuels and i think thats a problem. 

You ever notice when gas is expensive capital hill comes under pressure from constituents and since congress is controlled by lobbies (one of which is oil which would never want the world to find a new fuel other than an archaic black sludge, or cars that were actually fuel efficient) but for once congress has to start listening to the people they represent.  but once prices go down everybody goes back to sleep and the USA- which can put men on the moon, rovers on mars defeat the nazis and kick out the english empire-  can't/wont find another way to effectively power a car.  

Anyone who truly believes our gov't really wants to get off oil but just can't figure it out is just being naive    

 I don't believe that

 I don't believe that research into alternative fuels has declined no matter what the price of gasoline. Scientists know that eventually there will be a market for these substitutes, and for cars with motors that use them.

What outrages me is the insane idea, obviously embraced by anti-capitalist left-wing environmental extremists, that they can raise gas prices astronomically and strangle America's supply of oil by fighting every attempt to drill, refine, and otherwise develop our own resources.

In this classical liberal fairyland, America, out of pure desperation, will then magically and instantly conjure up alternate fuels, a nationwide distribution system, vehicles to use them, and money for Americans to buy them. We will then immediately stop using fossil fuels and just as immediately start using these new ones.

The simple fact is, now and for the foreseeable future, America runs on oil. Period. 

All the Kumbaya wishful thinking, all the hymns to Gaia, all the 'take your bike to work' liberal dreamers will not change that.

Somehow it seems politically incorrect to state the obvious; America runs on oil. America must drill, refine, and develop its own petroleum resources to ensure a continued supply of gasoline (not one subject to the whims of  religious despots and tinpot tyrants)  for the foreseeable future.

And any environmentalist, whether organization or individual, (e.g. National Defense Resources Council, Sierra Club, et al) who chooses to stand in the way of this policy should be considered a threat to our national security and dealt with accordingly.  It's that serious.

Modern technology has reduced the risk of oil exploration to the point that environmentalists now file injunctions on behalf of potentially 'endangered' insects. They now stand exposed as the obstructionist reactionaries they are.

LIBERALS LIE, ALL THE TIME, ABOUT EVERYTHING.

You might want to brush up

You might want to brush up on the concept of "markets" before you break into a self-important lecture on "archaic black sludge".  As much as you eco-parasites resist, you do not have the power, the authority or the right to dictate demand.  If a cleaner, more fuel efficient and (most importantly) a better fuel source is out there, then it is up to the producer of that source to make the case to the consumer...if the technology truly is better, private money will support the venture and it won't take much time to get consumers to switch.  The problem with eco-Marxists is that they are only interested in controlling the lives of others.  They wish to employ heavy-handed, punitive tactics to force consumers into accepting inferior technology as an alternative to what is currently used.  Quit whining about your disappointment and start doing something to make your pet technology naturally market-relevant.  Because the market isn't going to change just to indulge your idealistic fantasies.   

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan

fitzfong.blogspot.com

If a liberal wants to pay

If a liberal wants to pay more in taxes, there's nothing stopping them from writing out a check and sending it out to Uncle Sam.

Very Interesting article on MSM's coverage of gas prices in 08

http://www.sundriess...

I can still hear "Mika and the Echo Chamber" loudly, confidently asserting, in response to Bush ending the prohibition on offshore drilling:  "That's not going to have an impact on oil prices for 10 years".

After months of steady increases, oil prices started to drop within an hour of Bush's announcement and they continue to fall today.

Bush never got the slightest bit of credit from the MSM for the action he took (one might say "action against the speculators").

Care to correct yourself, Mika?

Krendler

Two days later and I still hear the crickets...... chirp,chirp..... chirp,chirp........ chirp,chirp.......

Leave it to the pinko

Leave it to the pinko scumbags at the NYT to propose punishing consumers in an effort to make an irrelevant product market-relevant.  Next thing you know they'll be demanding punitive taxes on radio, television and internet news sources in an attempt to force consumers to make the market-irrelevant NYT market-relevant.

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan

fitzfong.blogspot.com

oh excellent

lets push a few more people into mortgage default. 

"part of what I'm hoping to introduce as the next president is a new ethic of [government enforced] responsibility" - B. Obama