A Free Lunch, Literally

Via this gas tax calculator, I discovered that I can expect to save a whopping $8.80 if the summer gas tax holiday is enacted. "Celebrate good times, come on!"

Now, Mary and I are aren't typical in this respect, averaging only about 4500 miles per year in a compact sedan. But in order to make that happen, we live in the middle of downtown Charlotte, and we pay a premium for doing so. That's our choice, and it's worth it to us — almost everything we need is within walking distance, usually just a couple of blocks. But I figure as long as presidential candidates like Clinton and McCain are willing to pander on this issue, why not pander to us, too? Where's our free money?

I mean, if you make it a centerpiece of your energy policy to reward many people whose chosen lifestyle tends to make them large consumers of gas, the least you can do to balance that out is to give a few bucks to people who are taking a hit to live greener to begin with. In fact — and here's a completely unnovel idea — why not skip the gas tax holiday altogether and subsidize green alternatives like public transport, the purchase fuel-efficient vehicles, working remotely, etc. It might not be popular with some parts of the SUV crowd, but at least it has the virtue of providing the right incentives.

And yes, there are many people who are legitimately hurting because of higher energy prices. But instead of subsidizing behavior — more driving — that will just make the long-term problem worse, why not try to come up some targeted assistance that actually rewards good behavior to an extent.

Update 5/10: Missed a decimal point, so I adjusted the savings and title appropriately.