News

Don't Get Me Started

By ANDY HEFTY

JACKSONVILLE, FL - Well, they’re at it again. Congress wants to increase taxes one way or another. This time, the pressure is on the "evil" oil companies. The newest proposal to hit Americans via the Hollywood wannabes in Washington is a 50 cent-per-gallon tax increase on gasoline. Michigan Congressman John Dingell, a Democrat, has created the bill.

As I write this, a gallon of standard, unleaded gasoline is $3.25. By the time this bill pushes through Congress (and in the unlikely event the President doesn’t veto it), I can guarantee that gas will be $4.00 or more for a single gallon. All told, that would make one-fourth of the money spent at the pumps go directly to Washington (do not pass "GO"; do not collect $200), without even counting what the state and local levels receive. I could argue this hideous bill for months. But I think my 6 readers would be reduced to 3 if that were the case, so I will only argue it in a single column -- for now.

Environmental Concerns

For those who still believe in the global warming/climate change hype/hysteria/hoax, let me set your mind at ease once and for all. There is a term for global warming: summer. And for your added benefit there is a term for climate change: seasons. Wow! Fancy that. I have spoken to many people around the nation. This last winter was pretty cold. Record snow. Record low temperatures. Most folks were hoping for a little warming, except the snow plow drivers.

Saving Energy

Congressman Dingell states that the reason for this tax hike is to get people to use less gas. If Dingell wants to really save energy, perhaps he should consider checking the mirror first. How many unnecessary junkets do members of Congress take for "fact-finding missions"? What types of cars does he drive? How many homes does he own? And while you’re at it, Mr. Congressman, check the hypocrisy of Nobel Prize Laureate Al Gore.

In other words, this is a nation of freedom. Don’t tell me how to live my life if you won’t change yours.

More Energy

In the last 30 years, the number of new refineries built in America is precisely zero. During that same span, half of the existing refineries have shut down. The rest have had to deal with ever-increasing regulation, not to mention the vast number of ''summer blends'' required for different regions. Add to all those problems with a larger population and increased driving demands. What do you have? Lower supply and higher demand. That is the basic economics formula for high prices.

Now, Dingell wants to increase the price? No thanks!

Congressman, why won’t you become part of the solution? Encourage energy companies to seek new sources of oil (hint: ANWR and the Florida Gulf Coast for starters), build new refineries, and research new energy methods. The simplest way to do that is to get off their backs!

Chutzpah

It takes a lot of brass for a sitting lawmaker to demand lower prices in one statement, and then propose a tax hike. These very elitists have accused the oil companies of "gouging" nearly every year since the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo. But they won’t lift a finger on the burdensome taxes on gas. Perhaps the American citizens need to investigate tax gouging.

Economic "Engine"

Metaphorically speaking, oil is what drives the economy. We must have energy to produce our goods and services that benefit the world. Deal with it. Until an affordable energy source is found and produced without government subsidies, we have to use oil and its byproducts. Again: deal with it.

Increasing gasoline taxes will have a domino effect on the cost of everything else, including the price of food, medicine, clothing. You name it, and the price goes up -- all because of your precious tax increase.

Fossil Fuels?

On April 24, 1994, the Wichita Eagle reported that a local garbage company produced useable oil, within 15 minutes, by applying heat and pressure to garbage. Makes one wonder whether the whole "fossil fuel" argument is valid.

Tax Addiction

Doesn’t it strike anyone as odd that a member of Congress would offer more tax increases when they are screaming that the American taxpayers need their "stimulus" rebates? Isn’t it strange that we sit on the edge of a recession but are threatened with even more taxes? Don’t you remember the lesson of the early 90’s when we were clobbered with a tax increase that produced a recession?

Hey, Congress, isn’t $3,000,000,000,000 a year enough? (That’s Three Trillion dollars.) If tax revenues were alcohol, you’d be in a drunken stupor. Don’t you think it’s time to cut back?

In short, Congressman Dingell’s idea is not only a bad one; it is dreadful and ugly beyond all recognition and reason. No nation can tax itself into prosperity. A politician from Michigan should especially know that first-hand. And adjusting tax law with the intent on adjusting behavior doesn’t necessarily yield the desired results, either. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have any teenage smokers, now, would we?

Besides, if we want higher taxes, we’ll donate it. Until then, please leave our wallets alone. You’ve had enough already.

Andy is a father of 13 children who lives with his wife of over 23 years in Baker County, Florida. His opinions usually center around mixing politics and religion with hot-button topics as his specialty. You can contact him at ACHefty@yahoo.com.