An economist has finally come forward with a cogent argument in favor of the gas tax holiday. In today’s New York Times, Bryan Caplan points out that voters are demanding that Congress do something. There is nothing Congress can actually do to help the situation. But since they’re likely to do something, the gas tax is the least damaging among a number of options:
The tax holiday is a relatively cheap symbolic gesture that makes truly bad policies less likely.
An argument robust to idiocy. I love it.
Ah, but what does it symbolise other than that people are stupid? Or is that what it is actually supposed to symbolise?
James –
That’s it precisely. It’s a policy that recognizes and is robust to the reality of stupidity.