Politicians and experts debate whether gas tax holidays are worthwhile

Politicians and experts debate whether gas tax holidays are worthwhile

Transcript¹

As gas prices rise, politicians call for gas taxes to be suspended. Transportation experts say such moves won't provide much relief and would cut into needed spending on roads, bridges and transit².

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Oil prices are dropping. They're now below $100 a barrel. So gas prices may soon drop, too. But as of the moment, they're still near record highs, so politicians are proposing gas tax holidays to give consumers a little relief at the pump. This idea may seem good on paper, but there are concerns that gas tax cuts could reduce the funding that's available to fix and replace crumbling³ roads and bridges. Here's NPR's David Schaper from Chicago.

(SOUNDBITE OF GAS STATION AMBIENCE)

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE⁴: The pain at the pump these days is palpable.

MERIS GONZALEZ: Gas prices are way too much, you know? People can't, you know, afford it. This is ridiculous, you know?

SCHAPER: Meris Gonzalez is among those wincing⁵ as he pumps 10 1/2 gallons of gas on Chicago's northwest side.

GONZALEZ: There you go - $50. But they should be lowering it down, you know? Our pays are not going up, but the gas is going up. Everything else is going up.

SCHAPER: Twenty-six-year-old Miriam Khoshaba feels it, too.

MIRIAM KHOSHABA: It's a lot of money (laughter). I've been finding myself getting really empty quickly because I'm not filling my tank as I usually would 'cause of the gas prices.

SCHAPER: These and other drivers are practically begging for relief, so from coast to coast, politicians are proposing measures to slash⁶ or temporarily suspend state and local gas taxes.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)

JODI LOTT: This body has an opportunity to save Georgians near $157 million each month at the pumps.

NED LAMONT: Now is the time to provide immediate⁷ relief, aid to the people in Connecticut, broadly in terms of inflationary pressures and specifically as it regards drivers getting hit at the pump.

STEVE JOHNSON: We actually have the power here to reduce gas prices by 28 cents a gallon for every Michigander.

PETER FRANCHOT: And it would immensely help these low-wage earners who are getting back into the workforce⁸ and beginning to commute⁹.

SCHAPER: That was Georgia state Representative Jodi Lott, a Republican; Democratic Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont; Republican state Representative Steve Johnson of Michigan; and Maryland state Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democrat¹⁰. They're among the elected officials in at least 20 states proposing gas tax holidays of anywhere from one month to two years, which, depending on how high their state gas tax is, could save consumers up to 50 cents a gallon or more. And several Democratic U.S. senators are calling to suspend the federal gas tax as well. Such proposals are not a surprise, says Jeff Davis of the nonpartisan Eno Center for Transportation.

JEFF DAVIS: The public wants the politicians doing something about it. A gas tax holiday is something. And so it's what comes up, unfortunately.

SCHAPER: The problem, he says, is that cutting the federal gas tax really won't save drivers much money.

DAVIS: Well, you know, we're paying $4 at the pump right now. Only 18.4 cents of that, per gallon, is the federal taxes.

SCHAPER: And Davis says even if Congress does cut the gas tax, it may not trickle¹¹ down to the pump price.

DAVIS: You got to remember, the federal taxes are levied¹² at the refinery¹³, so there's no guarantee that that's going to - that savings¹⁴ is going to be passed on through the wholesaler¹⁵ and then the - gets it to the service station.

SCHAPER: Another problem is that, like at the federal level, state and local gas taxes are often strictly¹⁶ dedicated¹⁷ to maintaining, repairing and replacing the very aging and crumbling roads and bridges that drivers rely upon. It's the reason Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine opposes a partial repeal¹⁸ of his state's gas tax.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE DEWINE: We need this money to keep our roads going and repair our roads and make our roads safer. So it would just be a mistake to do that.

SCHAPER: But consumers like 30-year-old Jessica Aguillar of Chicago, who are facing skyrocketing fuel costs on top of sharp price increases for just about everything else, want to be able to save even just a few bucks¹⁹ when filling their tank.

JESSICA AGUILLAR: Temporary relief is better than no relief (laughter), even if it's just for a little bit. Yeah, definitely. Especially with summer coming up, I'm sure a lot of people are going to be traveling a lot more. So I'm sure that people are going to appreciate that, yeah.

SCHAPER: It's also an election year, which is why voters from Florida to Washington state and many states in between may be celebrating gas tax holidays later this year.

David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 wincing   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She switched on the light, wincing at the sudden brightness. 她打开了灯，突如其来的强烈光线刺得她不敢睜眼。
• "I will take anything," he said, relieved, and wincing under reproof. “我什么事都愿意做，"他说，松了一口气，缩着头等着挨骂。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

12 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

13 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

14 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

15 wholesaler   

n.批发商

参考例句：

• We're the largest furniture wholesaler in Illinois. 我们是伊利诺伊州最大的家具批发商。 来自辞典例句
• These are used to create profiles for each wholesaler. 这是他日常的工作或通过与批发商的正式会谈。 来自互联网

16 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

17 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

18 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

19 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》