Living Car Free - Senate GOP seeks $100 gas rebate checks

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/gascheck27.html


How typical...

They talk alot but don't seem to care. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/26/AR2006042602307_pf.html

Very clever to put this on the ANWR bill. Now when it fails to pass, the GOP will say, "Dems not only are against drilling for oil in the US, they also refuse to help people out with gas tax relief."

Ahhhhhh this sort of thing makes my head spin.

Where the heck did they get all that money, that they can just go mailing out 100 dollar bills? Oh yeah, they got it from us. Taxes. It's our money, and we paid them to make the country better, not to give money back to us. How stupid do they think we are?

Of course, they figure we really will spend it on gas. That way, the government can subsidize the oil industry without appearing to do so. Can you imagine them doing this for other industries?

If I do get a check for a hundred bucks, well, I guess I'll spend it on bike parts.

Speaking as a REAL conservative (not a Bush-ite pseudo-conservative), this is one of the worst ideas in years.

Our taxes won't supply the cash... our children's & grandchildren's taxes will ! The Federal Govt is broke and living off of a credit card!




Ahhhhhh this sort of thing makes my head spin.

Where the heck did they get all that money, that they can just go mailing out 100 dollar bills? Oh yeah, they got it from us. Taxes. It's our money, and we paid them to make the country better, not to give money back to us. How stupid do they think we are?

Of course, they figure we really will spend it on gas. That way, the government can subsidize the oil industry without appearing to do so. Can you imagine them doing this for other industries?

If I do get a check for a hundred bucks, well, I guess I'll spend it on bike parts.

I called both of my US Senators and expressed my displeasure. Please do the same.

Don't you think that if they gave every adult who doesn't own a car a $100 rebate that it would cause many fence sitters to jump to the car free side? Maybe just give $1000 to each person who sells a car and exchanges his or her drivers license for an ID card? Whats not to like? I don't think the goal of these creeps is to save gas, the articles read as though the goal is to get re-elected. Its obvious to us car free how to save gasoline. It is not so obvious to me how I would cajole obese SUV drivers to vote for me. The washington post article makes me think that politicians have some insights into the psyche of their lard butt constituents and rich campaign donors.

I like the idea of tax breaks for hybrids, though it seems blatantly hypocritcal from a party that has implemented tax breaks for SUV owners :rolleyes:. A $100 rebate for gas is pucking ridiculous. If anything, they should provide a rebate for those of us who use public transit.

Quite honestly, both parties are FOS when it comes to energy conservation and alternative fuels. They only speak about it when its politically expedient for them to do so. When gas prices start to settle and/or people just get used to the higher prices and fall back into formation to quietly get their gas fix all this "alternative energy" buzz form Capitol Hill will disappear. Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy's contribution to alternative energy.


Kennedy faces fight on Cape Wind
Key lawmakers oppose his bid to block project (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/04/27/kennedy_faces_fight_on_cape_wind/)


WASHINGTON -- As record oil prices turn attention to the need for renewable fuels, momentum is building in Congress to buck Senator Edward M. Kennedy's bid to block the proposed Cape Cod wind energy project, potentially reviving efforts to construct the sprawling windmill farm in Nantucket Sound.

The chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee said yesterday that when the bill Kennedy backs that would effectively halt the wind farm comes up for a vote in the Senate, they will object on procedural grounds. They say they'll argue that a renewable energy project shouldn't be lumped in with a bill governing the Coast Guard.

$100 don't do jack**** to lower the price of oil. $100 can buy you what, a nice pair of shoes?

$100 don't do jack**** to lower the price of oil. $100 can buy you what, a nice pair of shoes?

What lowers the price of oil is less demand and more supply. Oil is a commodity bought and sold like any other commodity who's price is dictated by the basic laws of supply and demand. I hear many people speak about oil as though it should be a government subsidised right given to the "people". The moment I see our government taking over private/public business for the "benefit of the people", I'll pack up and move to another country. ;)

How about Debbie Stabenow's proposal for a 500 dollar refund that will be paid for by repealing oil company tax cuts?

"She says the oil company accountability act would give an immediate $500 tax rebate to families to offset high energy costs. It would also repeal 500-billion dollars in tax breaks for oil companies."

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=4813441

I wouldn't mind if they took that $100 and applied to serious conservation efforts or research into clean, renewable fuel.

Wow folks... I think we are screwed. Sometimes, I am able to soothe my troubled mind by lying to myself and I almost convince myself that our elected officials have our best interests at heart. Then I read the news... The powers-that-be are really this f'ing stupid and this isn't a bad dream. Oy!

$100 dollar rebates toward the next purchase of your bicycle...

How stupid do they think we are?

Very

I like the idea of tax breaks for hybrids,.
I don't. There are some (and increasing numbers) of hybrids with worse mpg than non.
(My wife drives a Prius. She has averaged over the past near 2yrs. 49.8mpg.)
Al

Yes, so we should give a tax break to a Hummer "performance" hybrid that gets 15 MPG instead of 12 MPG?



I don't. There are some (and increasing numbers) of hybrids with worse mpg than non.
(My wife drives a Prius. She has averaged over the past near 2yrs. 49.8mpg.)
Al

Yes, so we should give a tax break to a Hummer "performance" hybrid that gets 15 MPG instead of 12 MPG?

No, we should take a baseball bat to Hummers.

Wait a sec... would a baseball bat even do anything to a Hummer?

*disclaimer* the above is a joke and not meant to inspire the acting out of such behavior anywhere but in the safety of any particular individuals' sick and twisted mind

I like the idea of tax breaks for hybrids

But then the roadies and mtn bikers will want one too.:p

Speaking as a REAL conservative (not a Bush-ite pseudo-conservative), this is one of the worst ideas in years.

Our taxes won't supply the cash... our children's & grandchildren's taxes will ! The Federal Govt is broke and living off of a credit card!

+1. you dont need to be a conservative to agree with that

How about a real tax break for mass transit commuters. Right now you can buy monthly transit passes out of pre-tax income but only up to about $100 which in the NYC area is laughable. A subway pass is $7, a monthly train pass can cost $200-$300.

Unfortunately Congress is riddled with corruption. Our "leaders" are really working for the oil companies and other large corporations. The Democrats ideas are just as moronic as the republicans on this issue. I can only assume they have also been bought.

How about Debbie Stabenow's proposal for a 500 dollar refund that will be paid for by repealing oil company tax cuts?

A better use might be to invest the cash for decent public transit. Santa Clara light rail from Campbell, CA to Mountain View, CA -- for example -- takes over one hour to travel a distance of about 15 miles.

I just took the time to read the NY Times article. The $100 checks will be funded by oil sales in ANWR. A cheap payoff to us when Americans are desperate for price relief at the pumps.

The Senate Republicans have no shame.

It's pandering. They are basically telling you that they want to buy your vote.

I won't lie and say that I wouldn't like $100. Granted, it's not going to solve anything long term. It's like putting a Band-Aid on a sucking chest wound. Giving tax breaks to those who drive hybrids is like telling smokers who smoke light cigarettes they are doing their part to end smoking.

It's pandering. They are basically telling you that they want to buy your vote.Paying me off, more like.




I won't lie and say that I wouldn't like $100. Granted, it's not going to solve anything long term. It's like putting a Band-Aid on a sucking chest wound. Giving tax breaks to those who drive hybrids is like telling smokers who smoke light cigarettes they are doing their part to end smoking.I would like an extra $100 too; like others here, it would go to bike parts, or bike fuel. But if it means they're paying me off so they can go into ANWR, I'd rather have ANWR intact.

No, we should take a baseball bat to Hummers.

Wait a sec... would a baseball bat even do anything to a Hummer?



Oh Please. Maybe the original AMC Hummer. But all the "hummers" today are glorified trucks. The H2, is a Tahoe (I think) chassis, with bigger tires and less cargo space.

I actively laugh at H2 owners. I actually asked on guy how small his dick had to be in order to feel the need to buy such a moronic vehicle. He didn't seem to appreciate it.

-D

Perhaps the rebate should only be for those with a motor vehicle. $100 for each car one owns. No I am not trolling, I just saw this 'refinement' to the proposal stated in an editorial I read over the weekend.
Al

Perhaps the rebate should only be for those with a motor vehicle. $100 for each car ones owns. No I am not trolling, I just saw this 'refinement' to the proposal stated in an editorial I read over the weekend.
Al
If anything at all gets passed before the November elections, this is what it will be. A rebate to car owners because of the "disaster" of high gas prices. What a joke! But I bet it happens.