We’ve all heard the strategy of not letting a crisis go to waste, but with the fall in gas prices the proponents of a big tax don’t want to let a celebration go to waste. Just when American motorists are getting a break at the pump, out come the calls from both the left and the right that now is the perfect time to slap on a big new federal tax. Yet contrary to these claims, the drop in gas prices per se doesn’t bolster the case for hiking taxes. If a gas tax hike was a bad deal back in the summer, then it’s still a bad deal now. The only thing that’s changed is the psychological difference— trying to take away the “gift” the market has given to consumers before they get used to it.
