John McCain Believes We Should Institute A Summer Gas Tax Holiday. Hard-working American families are suffering from higher gasoline prices. John McCain calls on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent federal gas tax and 24.4 cent diesel tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day.[3]

Of course, considering that elections are only in November, and hoping that W. Bush doesn’t hop on the bandwagon[4], we can be somewhat certain that this issue won’t even be relevant next summer (or at least completely forgotten). The underlying issue is not the high price of gasoline (Americans should consider themselves lucky compared to other countries[5]) but the sense of entitlement that this type of political ploy appeals to. Why shouldn’t American middle class families get a break? We pay a huge chunk of our salaries that we work very hard for to feed and clothe and shelter ourselves. How are we supposed to keep up with the rising prices of food and gas? The answer is simply: deal with it.

Make adjustments in your lifestyle to accommodate for the rising prices of amenities. A popular feature in many magazines (financial[6] and otherwise[7]) these days is how to lower your grocery bill. Take advantage of public transportation if that’s an option for you. Spend less of frivolities that you can live without. The overwhelming tendency to think we deserve to live a certain lifestyle is detrimental to our financial well-being. It’s shocking how taboo it is to have a philosophy that you must live within your actual means, not your imagined ones. Obama is coming under fire for dismissing the tax break as:

“…a gimmick that would save you half a tank of gas over the course of the entire summer so that everyone in Washington can pat themselves on the back and say they did something,” said Obama. “Well, let me tell you, this isn’t an idea designed to get you through the summer, it’s designed to get them through an election…” [8]

He, of course, uses the opportunity to reiterate why his tax cuts (some of which are eerily similar to Ms Clinton’s) are better than just a band-aid, but his opponents want to get the word out that he is “elitist” and imply that he is against the working class. I would state, rather, that this tax holiday is a prettily wrapped poison. The funding from these taxes go to help construct highways, mass transit, and other things that we take for granted, like erecting street signs and fixing potholes.[9] In all fairness, it’s a good system, with a sort of “pay per use” construct. You don’t buy gas? You don’t have to help pay for road maintenance. So why does it seem so tantalizing to get a tax break on something we can admit actually benefits the country at large?

We live in a “gimme” culture brought about by our hopes of attaining the American dream, but somewhere along the line the dream got twisted. No longer do we dream of working hard to own what we have, but we compulsively purchase on credit and dream of becoming millionaires with little to no effort invested. We either refuse to acknowledge or can’t foresee the consequences to our financial behaviour, and that includes those in political power. Their goal here is to appear to be a hero and appeal to American’s sense of greed and entitlement – a smart political move – instead of actually being the hero this nation needs to overcome this financial crisis.

[Quote in title is by Karl Hakkarainen]