Editorial Board
A Gas-Tax Holiday Is a Terrible Idea
It wouldn’t do anything to ease rising prices. It would cause lasting damage to federal finances.
Don’t make things worse.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Inflation, like a full moon, seems to induce a range of manias. A proposal in Congress to suspend the federal gas tax offers a good example.
As the economy recovers fitfully from the pandemic, prices have surged at the fastest pace in four decades. Consumer sentiment has plunged. National average gas prices have risen to $3.53 a gallon, up from $2.58 a year ago. Mindful of the political stakes in an election year, President Joe Biden’s administration has been casting about for a quick solution. “Every tool is on the table to reduce prices,” it says.