McCain-Clinton Gas Tax Plan to Cost California 23,107 Jobs?

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

That's the claim from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, which has a study showing how the gas tax cut will affect jobs in each state.

The assumption the AR&BTA is using is that the tax cut would blow a $9 billion hole in the federal transportation budget. Based on FY 07-08 expenditures CA's share of that would be $664,406,924. The association then estimates that 23,107 jobs would be lost here in California - roughly equivalent to the proposed school layoffs - over the next three years.

No wonder then that local transportation agencies across the state are denouncing this foolish proposal. From Santa Cruz:

“"It would deplete an already oversubscribed highway trust fund, making a bad situation worse," commission Executive Director George Dondero said. "We're trying to get the government to generate more money for transportation, not less."

“Dondero said he didn't know how much the county could lose, just that "future projects would have to wait."

“Critics of the gas-tax break, including Clinton opponent Barack Obama, say it would have little impact on consumers, saving the average driver an estimated $30 over the course of the summer, and instead create a $10 billion gap in the federal highway trust fund, used for highway construction and maintenance.

“Calling the proposal an "election pandering" tactic, commissioner and county Supervisor Ellen Pirie said it would benefit oil companies.

“"There will be a lot of harm in terms of infrastructure projects and maintenance people want taken care of," Pirie said. "It would be great if there were a way to reduce the price of gas. I know a lot of people are struggling with this, but I don't think [the tax break] is an effective way to do this."”

Thanks to Daily Kos diarist Jimmy Crackcorn you can see just how much this pander will be worth to you with an online calculator. Plugging in my expected summer driving (75 mi per week) and car mileage (33 mpg) I get...$16!

Wow. A whopping $16. That's maybe a dollar a week. And at the low, low cost of 23,107 jobs in our state during a recession and stalled transportation projects that if completed would help drivers save on gas for years to come. Of course, the lost jobs have a ripple effect on both state budgets (lost income tax revenue, lost sales tax revenue) and the state economy.