Below is a blog post from the Josh Zeitz for Congress campaign. Josh is a Democrat challenging Republican incumbent (and anti-choice caucus chair) Chris Smith in NJ-4.
Today, I paid $3.88 per gallon to fill up my car. Accustomed as I am to living on a history teacher’s salary, I know how much these high gas prices hurt, and how they impact everything else we buy.
Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with 5th grade students at the Leadership Academy Charter School in Trenton about the issues they feel are important in this year’s election. Nearly every student talked about how hard it was for their parents to afford the rising cost of gas. They also knew that when the price of gas goes up, so does the cost of food, clothing, and other basic necessities. The problem is so obvious that even fifth graders realize we’re in a crisis, yet our leaders in Washington have let this problem fester so long that it’s squeezing New Jersey families to the breaking point.
More after the jump.
Simply put, New Jersey families can no longer afford to get by in George Bush’s economy. The Republicans in Washington are under the influence of big oil, which is raking in huge profits thanks to those same high gas prices. Unfortunately, my opponent, Chris Smith, has been part of the problem. He has consistently voted for huge subsidies for energy corporations while also voting against tougher laws against price gouging at the pump. We need a change in Congress. We need to elect people who actually put the interests of Central Jersey’s families ahead of corporate profits.
Our government needs to help families deal with these high gas prices. We need to take direct action immediately.
We need to start by strengthening laws against price gouging. We should establish criminal penalties for CEOs who artificially inflate prices. Congress should also investigate price fixing by rich oil cartels like OPEC.
Second, we need to make new, fuel-efficient hybrid cars affordable for all American families. Currently, the tax credit for buying hybrids is too small, and there is a limit on the number of families who can receive it. We need to increase these tax breaks so that all families can afford a fuel-efficient vehicle for the cost of their current car payments. How do we pay for it? By eliminating the billions we give to oil companies that are already making record profits.
We simply can’t wait any longer. When the price of a gallon of gas goes up by a dollar, as it has in only the past year or so, it means that Americans are paying an extra $142 billion each year to fill up their tanks. See this New York Times article for details.
This is a serious problem that, as Trenton’s fifth graders rightly noted, hurts families – not only at the gas station, but at the supermarket and beyond. It’s also a national security problem. Americans have spent about $600 billion over the past twelve months on gasoline, and almost $400 billion of that has gone to foreign oil producers.
Sixteen gallons of gas at $4 per gallon. More than $60 to fill up a tank. By increasing the efficiency of our cars, we can help NJ families achieve the economic security they enjoyed before George Bush became president. In the long run, by developing new, innovative technologies we can create a green economy that provides high-paying jobs here in Central Jersey, while alleviating our pain at the pump. Together, we can create a more affordable and secure future.
I’m going to stick around for comments. If you are interested in volunteering for the campaign, please contact me at ian_at_joshzeitz_com. I am a volunteer myself, and serve as Josh’s Netroots Outreach Coordinator.
I have to leave my computer now but I will come back later to reply. I do apologize.
Gas prices will keep going up and up, because of peak oil. Candidates should promise to expand our mass transit options, to require more fuel efficient cars, etc. But candidates shouldn’t promise to lower the price of gas, or let themselves be perceived as promising to lower the price of gas. If they do, and gas prices keep going up, then it will hurt them in subsequent elections.
Thirty years ago, we faced our first big jumps in oil prices. Mileage requirements for cars (not trucks) were raised substantially by Gerald Ford, of all people. If we had continued down that track, we would all be driving hybrid cars, truck and SUVs. Alternative energy, figured by the deep thinkers of the time to provide a substantial portion (20% IIRC) of our energy needs is a joke. And a tax break.
Meanwhile, oil companies do invest in expensive technology to get more oil iut of existing wells but have been loathe to exploit current oil leases or build new refineries. Exxon showed everybody how short sighted they are. Facong record profits they are selling off the company owned gas stations. Stupid. More tax breaks but fewer US employees. And we are “helping” them because ….
Tackle the oil companies. Improve mileage. Foster solar and wind energy. Maybe it won’t help right away but it will very soon. And the jobs it creates will be here. Conservation and alternate energy makes so much more sense than drilling off the beaches of Florida.
Any congressman or congresswoman who did that deserves to be reelected.
Of course you are right that the long-term is key. Josh hopes to help families in need deal with high gas prices in the short term, while focusing as well on long-term efficiency measures that reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create green jobs at home. You made some good points here and I’m glad you are focused on the long-term.