An indication displays the value per gallon of gasoline at a fuel station on March 10, 2022 in Miami, March 10.
Picture:
Joe Raedle/Getty Photographs
As soon as Congress adopts a nasty concept even in an initially worthy trigger, it invariably spreads to change into a horrible concept. That’s the case with federal “stimulus” checks, which started as Covid reduction and now are being proposed to offset the rising worth of gasoline.
A trio of Home Democrats—Mike Thompson (Calif.), John Larson (Conn.), and Lauren Underwood (Illinois)—have launched the Gasoline Rebate Act of 2022 to ship People a $100 examine in any month this 12 months when the nationwide common fuel worth exceeds $4 a gallon. Dependents will get one other $100, so the household of 4 can replenish that SUV on Uncle Sam’s dime. The nationwide common worth has exceeded $4 in current weeks.
The phrase “rebate” is a misnomer as a result of this isn’t rebated from any cost to the federal authorities. It’s a authorities examine to pay for larger fuel costs triggered largely by authorities. Voters are blaming Democratic insurance policies for inflation and for making it tougher to provide American oil and fuel. With an election coming, and their majority in peril, Democrats are resorting to what they do greatest: Spending extra of your cash.
The non-rebate rebate is even worse coverage than the fuel tax vacation that some states are proposing. Neither addresses the actual downside, however not less than the tax vacation lets folks preserve their very own cash. The rebate concept deserves to die within the crib, however the spectacle of climate-change warriors out of the blue making an attempt to subsidize fossil-fuel consumption is nearly value it.
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Appeared within the March 24, 2022, print version.
