Vying for Indiana: Candidates' Strategies for Cutting Fuel Costs

With prices hitting almost $4.00 per gallon, currently at $3.75 in southern Indiana, I, along with most other Indiana motorists are wondering when or if the gas crunch will ever end. We are searching for something-anything-that might ease the pain of pulling up to the pump or the overwhelming feeling of dread when our gas light comes on when the tank is near empty. With the upcoming primaries set for May 6, fuel price issues are taking center stage.
The three candidates in the upcoming election are now focusing on these gas woes. Although he has not made any trips to the southern region of Indiana, voters are paying attention to Senator John McCain's major plan to combat the rising fuel prices, as listed on InRich.com, which calls for a summer gas tax holiday. This would lift the 18.4-cent gas tax and the 24.4-cent diesel tax beginning on Memorial Day and lasting until Labor Day. He would stop adding oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which would reduce demand. He also has plans that would lessen rising prices on transportation and food costs, like ethanol subsidies and tariff barriers. McCain offers quick fixes that would give relief at the pump immediately but his goals do not appear to address the long term achievement of lower gas prices that Indiana residents are seeking.

Senator Barack Obama has made several trips to different areas of Indiana, concentrating on small towns in my area (although many are directly across the river from the much larger Louisville, Kentucky) stopping at the small town of Jeffersonville to film a commercial and the campus of Indiana University Southeast in New Albany for a town hall meeting where the crowd roared for him, to name a few. His platform to combat the rising fuel prices is to have a temporary lift on the 18.4 cents per gallon gas tax would only be a short-term method of dealing with a problem while ignoring the underlying issues. This equates it to treating the symptoms without treating the disease-something he says Washington has a long-term history of doing. Therefore, he is proposing a windfall profits tax on oil companies that would in turn be used to help pay energy costs of low-income families. In addition, he wants to explore alternative energy options, such as replacing the traditional combustion engine, but these are words heard so frequently in the past by other politicians that they hold little weight for currently over-expended motorists.

Senator Hillary Clinton has already made several stops in Indiana, and today she is to make another in Jeffersonville, although the location and time has been undisclosed. She would begin her battle with the rising fuel prices by investigating the oil companies to ensure no manipulation is occurring and then she claims she would release some of the oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which would bring down prices at least temporarily. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, she stated at a factory in Indiana that the oil companies are "making out like bandits" and so "there are a lot of people in Indiana who would benefit from a gas tax holiday." In addition, she would use the money from the windfall tax to pay for the lost revenue that would have been spent on highway improvements. However, she had also said previously that the money would be used to investigate more efficient fuel alternatives. Her plan appears to have the most long-term promise, but the use of windfall profits fulfilling two different needs does not seem likely.

Meanwhile, according to the Courier-Journal, state gubernatorial candidates, such as Jill Long Thompson, proposed a cap on the sales tax on gasoline, illustrating the state's great concern for an ease in fuel prices. Indiana motorists are looking for economic relief, especially after their sales tax was recently increased on April 1 from 6 to 7 percent. We are all feeling the pain when we fill our gas tanks at the pump, and with the declining economy in Indiana along with the rising prices, we are feeling it more with every day that passes. There is no doubt that the gas issue will be top priority for all Indiana voters in the upcoming primary and election, but unless results are can bee seen quickly and felt for the duration, there is no true winner of the debate over fuel cost-cutting measures. We want lower prices, we want fuel efficiency, and we want a leader who can made good on all of these promises. If Clinton could follow through on all of her promises, than yes, this would be the most likely winner of the gas price debate.

No Author, "The Candidates on Gas Prices," InRich.com
James O'Toole, "Dems Spar over gas holiday prices, pointing up one of few differences," Post-Gazette Now: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Leslie Stedman Weidenbener, "2 Vying for Chance to Beat Daniels," Courier-Journal.com