[Red State] For months, President Biden and scores of federal lawmakers have been paying lip service about Americans’ struggles to keep up with inflation, especially when it comes to rapidly rising prices at the pump.
For instance, in a recent op-ed he wrote for The Wall Street Journal, Biden said he has taken "every practical step to make things more affordable for families during this moment of economic uncertainty—and to boost the productive capacity of our economy over time."
He added that when it comes to record-high prices at the pump, he has specifically "led the largest release from global oil reserves in history."
Yet, despite his draining of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and whatever he was referring to when he said he has taken "every practical step" to reduce inflation, Americans are still facing the fact that gas prices continue to rise and inflation is getting worse, not better.
So, aside from the rhetorical gestures and hollow policies, what can Biden and Congress actually do to reduce the exorbitant price of a gallon of gasoline, which now costs an average of $4.67 per gallon?
For starters, it would certainly behoove the Biden administration and Congress to strongly consider a national gas tax "holiday."
As of now, the current federal tax on a gallon of gasoline stands at 18-cents-per-gallon for regular gasoline and 24-cents-per-gallon for diesel fuel.
If Biden and Congress wanted to make an immediate and meaningful difference when it comes to gas prices, they would work in tandem to put these federal tax levies on hold, at least for the foreseeable future. |