106 Comments - cassiopia - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:27 am: This is absolutely the wrong time to further reduce state revenue. Yes some people are hurting, but they have chosen to drive uneconomical vehicles or to live far away from their jobs for a variety of reasons. - wordslinger - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:36 am: No. I propose a 12-month holiday from Santa Claus giveaways meant to promote political careers while the state is still so far in the whole. - How Ironic - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:50 am: Total baloney. Its a small tax, and no guarantee it will do anything to lower the cost of fuel. Stupid. - bored now - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 6:04 am: my heart says yes (i hate paying what i am at the pump), but my head says no. if you’d asked me this question at the pump, i might have said yes. but, in my head, i always know that i can scoot over to indiana and avoid the illinois part of the tax or go to monee and avoid the ccok county part of the tax. we need the money, pure and simply… - Ben - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 6:17 am: How does Rep Rosenthal propose we make up for lost revenue? The tooth fairy? We need every source of revenue to close our budget gap at this time; to cut out any source of revenue is foolish, to say the least. - Robert M Roman - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 6:27 am: Just more pandering. - SAP - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 6:37 am: Disaster last time. Big Oill just raised prices. Customers did not save the money that the state lost. As much as I’d love to save $5 a week, the state cannot afford to lose a couple 100 million. - Wensicia - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 6:50 am: No, this state can’t afford temporary tax cuts/holidays for any reason. Not when they’re proposing cuts in education. - northernwatersports - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 6:56 am: Absolutely not! Complete grandstanding by pols looking for free media coverage. Unless they can account for a stream of revenue to replace what would be lost to the GRF, these crazy tax-holiday ideas only make our existing State budget problems worse! - Palatine - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:02 am: I voted yes because I bought gas this morning. After reading the post’s I’ve changed my mind. It is a stupid idea. - Gregor - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:22 am: No, it is a scam. - Way Way Down Here - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:43 am: We can’t afford “holidays” anymore. - Excessively Rabid - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:44 am: Maybe we could replace it with a tax on proposals for tax holidays and pension holidays. First legislator to bring it up gets the tab. - RNUG - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:45 am: State needs the revenue - bourbonrich - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:45 am: Only if he finds an offsetting expense to make up for it like his salary, staff expenses, travel expenses and office rent. - vole - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:50 am: No, although this involuntary burden in addition to the regressive income tax increase hurts the poor and middle classes , some of the revenue does go toward meeting the needs of these lower classes. Only reduced consumption and/or a renewed recession resulting from these high oil prices will have much impact on reducing demand and prices. But the pain of this, of course, will be felt most heavily by the lower classes. Negative sum for all the have less. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:57 am: No, keep the tax. We should instead investigate whether or not our unique Illinois requirements for different gas blends can be eliminated for the next 12 months. The fact that we have a large number of different blending raises prices, and complicates distribution within the state. - Melissa - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 7:59 am: This is absolutely the wrong time for a tax holiday of any kind. The State hasn’t been able to pay its bills: when I can’t pay my bills, I do not say “oh, what I need to do is decrease my revenue, that will solve the problem!” Unbelievably stupid. And I live in Chicago, with the highest gas prices in the country. - Old Milwaukee - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:05 am: No. There is no way to pay for it. When gas prices go up, the panderers come out. - thechampaignlife - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:06 am: No, we can’t afford to give up any revenue. - PaGo - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:09 am: YES! Finally a real solution to the economic pains of the taxpayer. Propose lowering your salary while you’re on a roll. - Excessively Rabid - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:12 am: And don’t even get me started on those doofuses who want to tap the strategic petroleum reserve every time the price of gas goes up. I know that’s not an Illinois issue, but still…. - Ray del Camino - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:14 am: More proposals for free candy from the Republicans in the House. But no proposals for specific cuts in the spending they abhor. Painfully stupid. - ok - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:15 am: So, cut $100 million from seniors, people with disabilities or education so that I can pay $4.60 a gallon instead of $4.80? Um… What’s the point? - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:20 am: No, this is a silly proposal that decreases revenue while doing little to help consumers. Talk about real energy reform, not headline generating nonsense. - Redbright - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:20 am: I voted No for a lot of the reasons others have stated. I might be agreeable to a reduction if pegged to a point at which gas prices go over -like $5 - in the future but only for the period of time they do. My proposal would have the drop be only by the amount over $5 the retail price is and not the full tax right off the bat. So that’s a penny at a time drop (and then increase when retail prices decline). - Anon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:22 am: After the Con-Con which establishes a unicameral legislature of 10 districts drawn on a geographical basis. - muon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:24 am: A better idea is to convert the state sales tax portion into a per gallon tax. Because the sales tax increases with the price of fuel our tax on gas has gone up 5 cents per gallon over the last few months as prices rose from $3 to $4 per gallon. The tax will increase another 5 cents as gas goes from $4 to $5 per gallon. A per gallon tax would hold the line on taxes at the pump. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:32 am: From the GAO: “The proliferation of special gasoline blends has put stress on the gasoline supply system and raised costs, affecting operations at refineries, pipelines, and storage terminals. Once produced, different blends must be kept separate throughout shipping and delivery, reducing the capacity of pipelines and storage terminal facilities, which were originally designed to handle fewer products. This reduces efficiency and raises costs. In the past, local supply disruptions could be addressed quickly by bringing fuel from nearby locations; now however, because the use of these fuels are isolated, additional supplies of special blends may be hundreds of miles away.” On ethanol, Increased ethanol mandates have cost a boatload. In addition to driving up food prices, new mandates have increased the required subsidies to produce ethanol (ethanol production loses money without subsidies), and we are now importing ethanol increasing our trade deficit. The new higher percentage ethanol mandates have lowered engine life. These factors all severely impact the consumer. One more thing, corn is now in shortage as a food source (causing more imports and higher associated prices). We have sufficient resources to use corn for food, but not for food and fuel. Alternate crop sources for ethanol are not as efficient (and needs more crop land which is diverted from other food uses) and is even less profitable than corn, and requires even larger subsidies. All this for a marginal environmental improvement. - PublicServant - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:34 am: I find myself agreeing with Cincy on this one. We keep hearing about the “different” formulations that are required in various parts of illinois…Make is a single formula and eliminate that as an excuse that can be used by the gouging gas companies. - Anon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:38 am: No. It doesn’t make economic sense. A study on the 2000 holiday found taht only 60% of the savings was passed on to the consumer. If he proposed it in revenue neutral way, I would think harder about it. - lakeview - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:39 am: Last I checked - Bill - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:41 am: Does Wayne get support from any oil companies? - siriusly - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:41 am: Cutting the gas tax to help consumers is a great idea. So are cutting the sale tax and reducing the property tax. But considering all the Republicans have done for the past 12 months is tell us that we’re living in denial and we have to start budgeting in reality, I find this proposal totally ironic and pandering of the worst kind. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:46 am: Cinci and PS, there may be some truth about blends and I fully agree with the impact of corn based ethanol, but lets not kid ourselves about what’s driving up prices. By far it’s speculators, and until we have comprehensive energy reform they’re going to keep doing it. - Bill - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:48 am: How about this? If you can’t afford the tax, drive less. - Kevin Highland - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:50 am: how about we actually ramp up U.S. Drilling and build more refineries. This will take several years but until the U.S. controls more of the active supply of crude oil we won’t have any control over the pricing. - Kevin Highland - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:55 am: @Bill There are people who can’t afford the tax and only drive when necessary. Maybe you have heard of the working class poor? - Aldyth - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:59 am: Cut a source of revenue and what bills will Illinois not pay to make up for it? - PublicServant - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:01 am: STL, I’m not saying that differing blends is the only, or even the main problem behind rising gas prices, only that it’s an unnecessary factor. I agree with you that it is speculation that is by far the main culprit behind rising gas prices now, and I worry about what kind of prices that we’ll see at the pump as a result of comprehensive energy reform. - Fed up - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:04 am: The state is bankrupt we cannot afford a tax holiday. I agree with the idea of making a national gasoline blend so it would be more efficient to make just one blend of gasoline. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:04 am: @Kevin - 1. Reducing the tax will not reduce the price at the pump. 2. After their rent or mortgage, the #1 expense for the working poor is utility costs for the home. If you want to protect them, oppose ComEd’s rate hike. 3. The extra revenue from the motor fuel tax should be used to expand public transportation, which will ultimately help “the working poor” much more. 4. Beyond that, use the extra revenue to step up road repair projects. Transportation infrastructure is one of the Top 5 issues for business expansion. Unlike worker’s comp costs, which don’t even make the Top 10. - DeKalb Dragon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:10 am: My explanation of my response is similar to others already… when you are in a hole, digging deeper is not the solution to get out of it. Perhaps Rep. Rosenthal has come up with a new biofuel based on magic beans. - Fed up - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:14 am: Stl Speculators get blamed every time the price at the pump goes up. Clinton Bush and now Obama have investigated this and come up with nothing. Face it the emerging economies of China and India along with other the rest of the developing world use a lot of oil. The U.S refuses to drill for a variety of reasons so we are at the mercy of the middle east oil producers. For to long ( back to Carter at least) we have ignored the need to be free of our dependance on foreign oil. This is one of the great bipartisan screw ups in history. - zatoichi - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:15 am: A tax holiday is always a quick fix solution that sounds good, but how can the state rationalize it if it cannot pay it’s bills. Great idea when there is a surplus. Terrible idea when vendor bills are hitting $8B. Would Wayne Rosenthal be willing to give up say 25% of his salary as a salary holiday? - MrJM - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:16 am: Do you support a temporary (say, 12 months) gasoline sales tax holiday? Yes. The answer to this state’s problems is obviously more pandering. – MrJM - RWP - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:17 am: We simply can not afford to cut our revenues. Representatives always want to say they acted to help the voters, but this in the long run will add to our debt problems and hurt everyone. r - Plutocrat03 - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:18 am: Proposing a tax holiday is always a great way to snag some publicity, but it is only a distraction from fact that no one is working on a real solution to the energy problems. Crude oil pricing is an international issue relating to the value of the dollar and various worldwide market forces, so that is mostly out of control of the lawmakers. However, the last time fuel prices were as high as they are now, crude was approaching $150/bbl. The reasons for the current gas prices being so much higher in relation to crude oil costs are purely regulatory. Only a small portion of the fuel cost issues problems can be handled locally, but pressure needs to be applied to the feds and their agencies to reduce the number of fuels allowed in the SIPs (State Implementation Plans) and to reform the wasteful ethanol programs and put an end to the eternal subsidy for that fuel component. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:18 am: Oil is one of, if not the, single largest dollar import to the US. Import cost is directly related to the strength of the dollar, and how many dollars there are (inflation). Right not, the Fed policies of a weak dollar (done to keep US exports high) and monitoring the debt (QEI and II) are affecting the oil market. Instability in Libya, the 8th largest exporter, and elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa is not helping, causing market uncertainty. US oil drilling bans and the lack of refinery capacity in the US (environmental regulations have stopped adding refining for over 20 years) have added upward pressure to the price of gas. Is it any wonder that speculators are hedging oil? Oil companies are among the most efficient companies in the world, plowing more of their assets back into R&D than most any industry. Oil companies usually (including now) run at about a 6% profit level. Even though they are making huge raw amounts of dollars on profit, their margins run much lower than most other companies who run about 17% margins. - wordslinger - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:21 am: –This will take several years but until the U.S. controls more of the active supply of crude oil we won’t have any control over the pricing.– We control most of the supply by consuming the most of it. You could drill all you want in the U.S. The oil companies aren’t going to give it away. They’re going to sell it to the highest bidder. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:22 am: - Plutocrat03 - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:18 am: Proposing a tax holiday is always a great way to snag some publicity…” Correct: http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=1&RecNum=8732 - Anonymous - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:23 am: I would *love* to pay less for gas– especially since it bugs me that big oil’s inefficient distribution system artificially inflates pricing in the Chicago area. But, I could not support a tax holiday while the state is in its financial disaster. That is just irresponsible. It is no more irresponsible than the wild spending that put the state in that position, I suppose, but why make it worse? - Ahoy - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:25 am: I would like it, but we just can’t afford it right now. - Anonymous - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:25 am: “- Bill - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 8:48 am: How about this? If you can’t afford the tax, drive less.” Bill- How about this? I stop driving, and you cart me around in a rickshaw instead. Everybody wins! - Cal Skinner - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:29 am: The part that is tax on a tax is not justifiable. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:33 am: - cassiopia - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:27 am: This is absolutely the wrong time to further reduce state revenue. “Yes some people are hurting, but they have chosen to drive uneconomical vehicles or to live far away from their jobs for a variety of reasons.” And the first response in this thread has yet to be beaten for its being out of touch with reality, especially when one considers the poor. - Liberty_First - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:33 am: Government makes more off of oil sales than oil companies so it makes sense to reduce the gas tax but Illinois spends too much so it makes no sense other than to politic for votes. - Colossus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:34 am: I wasn’t for it in 2000 and I’m not for it now. To steal from The Simpsons: “No, dig UP, stupid!” - Anon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:51 am: Shouldn’t cut tax revenues, given the State’s revenue/financial situation. On a related point, we’re too dependent in this country on gasoline-powered transportation and we won’t be forced to come up with non-gasoline based and more environmentally friendly/responsible solutions until the cost/benefit analysis changes. A tax holiday only prolongs the day of reckoning. - Irish - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:54 am: No, do not give a tax holiday. Apparently the budget situation is not sinking in where GOP state Rep. Wayne Rosenthal is concerned. Maybe a resolution asking the President and Congress to suspend speculation on oil in the markets for say 6 months would help. When the stock market crashed gasoline prices fell like a rock. Not because oil producers stopped producing but because speculation on oil was suspended. Maybe GOP state Rep. Wayne Rosenthal could draft and push such a resolution. - Two cents - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:08 am: Why not make a regressive tax on fuel. The higher the price of fuel, the lower the tax percentage. The state would still have higher revenues than if gas was $2.00 a gallon, and the taxpayers would get a break too. Remember, oil companies aren’t the only one reaping the benefits from the drastic increase in gas prices, the state reaps the benefit too. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:13 am: - Anon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 9:51 am: “On a related point, we’re too dependent in this country on gasoline-powered transportation and we won’t be forced to come up with non-gasoline based and more environmentally friendly/responsible solutions until the cost/benefit analysis changes.” If it moves, there is almost an engineering requirement that it move using gasoline. There are no other portable fuels that pack the equivalent energy punch in such a small volume, and with such a low weight and reliable power plant. Can’t fight physics. - Bman - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:16 am: I voted NO. This is exactly the kind of goofiness that got us into budget trouble. Have legislators ever heard the expression “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”? - Lisle Mike - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:23 am: The argument that “the state needs the money” only indicates a lack of priority to the solution of the problem. It is NOT the lack of tax revenue, it is SPENDING. As to the people who “choose” to drive an “inefficient” car…it’s hard to get a car loan when you are out of work. they have no choice! I am sure they would gladly purchase a more efficient vehicle, but it seems rather elitist to blame them. Give the people a break. Show them you understand. Give them a holiday. - steve schnorf - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:24 am: It would be a mistake. I’ll give the same advise I did 11 years ago. Prices at the pump are going up and down 10 to 30 cents a day. Pick a day it goes down 20 or so, announce that we repealed the tax yesterday, and take credit for the decrease. It’s going back up tomorrow anyway. - Deana - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:35 am: Upping taxes on cigarettes has been shown to be the most effective way to get people to quit. Similarly, the only way to make people really care about renewable energy is to make non-renewable energy expensive. Folks need to start adjusting their lifestyles to use less gas anyway–giving them an out when the state is so broke seems like bad planning. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:38 am: - If it moves, there is almost an engineering requirement that it move using gasoline. - I guess someone should let all those buses in Springfield that run on natural gas know they’re defying physics. Come on Cinci, you apparently went to engineering school. You’re saying we’re stuck with gasoline forever? Were you the guy way back who said we might as well close the US patent office because everything has been invented already? - Bill - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:41 am: ==How about this? I stop driving, and you cart me around in a rickshaw instead== If you can’t afford gas, ytou can’t afford me. Maybe try a “working class poor” guy. I hear Kevin Highland is available. - Concerned Voter - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:42 am: How will we be able to tell? After a few weeks the oil companies/gas stations will find yet another BS reason to increase the prices anyway. more profit for them. How about start by eliminating one of the “reasons” we are told gas prices fluctate, do away with the summer blend / winter blend garbage. - Chicago Cynic - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:42 am: “No, keep the tax. We should instead investigate whether or not our unique Illinois requirements for different gas blends can be eliminated for the next 12 months. The fact that we have a large number of different blending raises prices, and complicates distribution within the state.” Wow, I actually agree with Cincinnatus. I still favor ensuring environmental protection, but I’m wondering whether there’s a way to preserve the protection without the varied blends that result in increased costs. - Bill - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:44 am: This tax is interfering with our constitutional right to drive. Someone should sue. - GMatts - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:47 am: Typical classless grandstanding by a typical Illinois politician. - downhereforyears - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 10:55 am: If the state was in better financial condition I would strongly support a complete change on how we tax gasoline. But given our dire condition it would be foolish to dig even a deeper buget shortfall at this time. This sounds like it’s just a stunt to placate his party. - Nanny State, Nanny #1 - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 11:24 am: If there is a gas tax holiday, raising the tobacco tax will more than cover the short fall! - Vote Quimby! - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 11:32 am: No, it’s a silly idea considering the financial canyon Illinois is in. I can envision the campiagn piece now: Wayne Rosenthal wants you to pay less for gas. He tried to reduce the price at the pump, but those big spenders in Springfield stopped him from lessening your burden. But he will keep trying, so vote for him again… - nothin's easy - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 11:36 am: When will we learn? It is so hypocritical to take the position government can’t significantly affect the economy via spending then suggest that 10-20 cents a gallon will actually have a significant benefit to individuals while gutting the public treasury. The same legislator(s) will then walk into a hearing and exclaim the unfairness of cutting one of their local human service providers. This is an example of the cause of, and these are the people responsible for, the condition we’re in. Lincoln was right, we get the government we deserve. - TJ - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 11:38 am: No, we shouldn’t have a gas tax holiday. As much as I need a dozen or extra bucks in my pocket every month, the state needs the money much, much more. I’d rather get the hurting done as soon as possible rather than spread it out any more than we already need to. - reflector - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 11:42 am: I support this because so many low income workers are having ahard time getting to work. - Louis XVI - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 11:58 am: No. Is Rosenthal that detached from the budget deficit reality? What a clown. - Ghost - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 12:19 pm: No! and LOL at word. The State cant pay billions of dollars in bills,. These kind of feeld good gestures make the financial problem worse notbetter. I propose that before anyone can suggest temporarily removing a tax or fee, they have to identify the replacement revenue stream or the proposed cuts to offset the revenue loss. - Blue State - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 12:23 pm: Absolutely. Illinois’ state slogan may as well be “Tax, Tax, Tax”, any relief the people can get is great. The average trucker has a very low margin as is, but now with tax double what it should be they are really hurting. - D.P. Gumby - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 12:29 pm: It’s always a race to the press room anytime gas goes above $.50 a gallon to see who will be the first pander bear. We just raised income tax cuz there ain’t enuf $$ in the till; why the devil do this now (and I say that as one who drives to and from Chi and Spi each week). Rather, dump the federal tax breaks for the oil companies for God’s sake!! - Emanuel Collective - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 12:33 pm: Gas tax holidays (and tax holidays in general) are ferociously opposed by economists and even the industries themselves, because they create a bubble:people stock up more on gas during the holiday, and cut their demand drastically upon it’s ending. This just winds up raising prices even higher in the future. - JustMe_JMO - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 12:34 pm: No. Where does Mr. Rosenthal expect to get the lost revenue or what does he plan to cut in expenditures. No wonder our state is in a fiscal crisis! - God's Country - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 12:37 pm: No. For the reasons Cincinnatus illuminated. - Liandro - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 12:48 pm: No, unless the bill specifically includes cuts, etc., equal to what it will cost the state to implement this idea. Any revenue cuts MUST be offset with spending cuts, etc. Gas taxes hit me hard in terms of food prices and running delivery operations…so I would love to see this happen, but it has to be paid for I think. - Rollin' - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:06 pm: No way. Just a political trick that will have little to no effect on consumers but will cost the state revenue it very much needs. And besides, who’s to say gas station owners will actually lower the prices when the tax is put in place? I’m guessing actual gas prices would barely reflect this reduction. - Esquire - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:09 pm: I resent the fact that Illinois levies multiple taxes upon the same sale of a gallon of gasoline. Make it one state tax on the sale and let it go at that. - phocion - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:31 pm: I voted “no.” That being said, I do wonder how many of those who are commenting here against the proposal had similar misgivings when Gov. Quinn got behind a sales tax holiday before the last election. - cermak_rd - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:35 pm: No. As everyone else has said the state can’t afford it. But even more so, the price of petrol is going to go up. India and China want to buy it too and the first lesson in economics is that more people wanting to buy means higher cost. People should buy less fuel intensive cars. Yes, the poor and unemployed can’t, but how many of those unemployed folks bought SUVs when they had jobs? Where practical, people should use mass transit. Higher petrol rates make mass transit more attractive. Where mass transit is not available, people should consider carpooling as a cheaper alternative. - Exhausted - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:35 pm: Maybe you are all being a little hard on Rep. Rosenthal. Maybe he wants to not only reduce the gas tax, but maybe cut state spending to match the loss. Has anyone asked him? Imagine that, someone who wants to cut taxes and reduce government…such a novel idea. I say go for it Rosey!! - Anon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:36 pm: Absolutely Not…As For My Reasoning, See Your Posted Topic Below: “Budget reality still not sinking in” - Not It - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:45 pm: Bad idea, but I don’t blame the freshman Representative for trying. He is representing the desires of his constituents. - BIG R. Ph - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:55 pm: Why would we give our retailers an opportunity to compete on fair footing? Go anytime to a gas station on the border and look at all of the Illinois license plates. Cut taxes on cigarettes, gasoline and alcohol and watch the sales actually come back to our state. It is called conservatism and it works every time it is tried. - Anon - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 1:56 pm: We are broke. The state needs the revenue. We have to pay our bills. - wordslinger - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 2:20 pm: –Maybe you are all being a little hard on Rep. Rosenthal. Maybe he wants to not only reduce the gas tax, but maybe cut state spending to match the loss. Has anyone asked him?– Why, is he shy? He put forth a real brave tax cut proposal without anyone asking. Maybe, as we speak, he’s crunching numbers on the budget cuts he proposes to make up for the lost revenue, and after that, he’ll dive into the deficit. Has anyone asked him? - levois - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 2:24 pm: I’m generally anti-tax, but I think there are more constructive things to do other than a gas-tax holiday. We could always encourage people to take public transportation when available. That could be one new source of revenue. - Rollin' - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 2:48 pm: -Has anyone asked him? Good luck, I’ve called his office before to ask about his stances on issues and am still waiting on the return call. - Just The Way It Is One - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 3:04 pm: I know I’m in the minority here, and this may sound like class warfare material, but, really, folks, a LOT of people who must use their cars/trucks etc. don’t make much money, are working people in the “middle class,” and below, and as s goodly number of these folks are TRULY hurting, or at least struggling financially, these dramatic gas price increases (which, other than how much they drive, they virtually have no control over) have at a time they can least bear it, obviously made matters in their wallets worse. Although many reasonable arguments above have been proposed (e.g Illinois’ massive deficit problems, increased costs from blending and ethanol to name a couple, speculators’ impact and how the prices go up/down anyway without our control), nevertheless, every little bit helps, and 20 cents/gallon savings might mean a few dollars a week kept to spend on even more pressing basics, like a bit more frugally-purchased food in their pantries (e.g. from places like The Dollar Tree)….Sorry, but sometimes a little bit goes a long way, and this is one–albeit admittedly small–but one way to help out a LOT of Illinoisans. I mean, my gosh, Chicago is SECOND out of ALL cities/towns throughout ALL 50 STATES in its’ average gas prices–this is outrageous, and currently spiraling out of control now, and from what I’ve heard on the news, Illinois on the whole isn’t doing much better on average costs. Perhaps the bill should be modified to allow the gas tax break for something like, a voucher for up to 20 gallons of gas per week, or 80 gallons/month per vehicle with an Illinois license plate, after a driver quickly registers his/her vehicle with the Sec. of State online or by phone or in person for the voucher privileges with spot checks by the State with individuals and/or gas stations in Illinois. Also, perhaps the time period of the gas tax holiday should be only for 6 months, to be reviewed again for possible extension then, and maybe even be limited to wage earners with an IL 1040 AGI of under, say, $50-60,000 in 2010 so that those folks who need the help most get it…just food for thought…. - 47th Ward - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 3:04 pm: Looks like Rosenthal’s bad idea isn’t needed anymore. “U.S. crude dropped below $100 for the first time since March 19. It was off $9.54 at $99.70 a barrel” according to a story on the Tribune’s web page. Now, how long until the price comes down at my local gas station? I paid $4.61 for a gallon of regular unleaded today, the highest in my memory. - Colossus - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 3:22 pm: I like Just the Way It Is One’s idea about means testing for it. Nightmare to enforce, but if you’re serious about both the state’s financial situation and helping the lowest end earners, then this seems like a good solution. Though I’m sure there’s a downside I’m not seeing right now and that it will be pointed out to me/us shortly. - Excessively Rabid - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 4:41 pm: @Phocion - me for one. I hate all these stupid “holiday” schemes. - Park - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:16 pm: cut some spending instead. Why are these silly ideas always put forward when gas goes up. saving 5% on a fillup (at current prices) isn’t going to really help anyone, but the loss of revenue will put us deeper in debt. Gasoline prices will go down when demand slips and the producers’ storage tanks start to fill up. It always happens. I know its a pain in the meantime…just got some pump sticker shock today. - Vote Quimby! - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:29 pm: No way! That would be as crazy as decreasing the amount getting paid into Social Security as it enters a lethal Laffer curve… - Timmeh - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:40 pm: As much as it hurts, we’re 180 billion + in debt. Cutting taxes and cutting spending is a nice idea. But just in case if you know how to do math, even a surplus of 6 billion dollars a year only pays off the debt in 30 years. We’re going to get nowhere near that number with lower taxes. Plug your nose when you take your medicine, because the medicine is going to taste worse if you put it off. - Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, May 5, 11 @ 5:43 pm: On July 14 2008, gasoline averaged $4.11 a gallon in the US. By December 29 of that same year, it was going for $1.61 (I remember paying around $1.40). Source: US EIA, average of all formulations. The market may have another $2.50 a gallon swing that will really affect consumers for better or worse. A gas sales tax holiday for a short period of time wouldn’t be fiscally prudent, wouldn’t make a real difference in most people’s lives, and would probably be cancelled out by increased state borrowing to pay bills. Ironically, many “fixers” would like to tie the motor fuel tax to the price of gas rather than the per-gallon charge now in effect, with the thought that high gas prices will produce a more reliable and robust revenue stream. Works good when the price is going up…not so good between times like July and December 08. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.