Voters Ready to Send a Message About Rising Gas Prices
With presidential candidates reporting millions in their campaign chests, an exclusive BuyingAdvice.com survey reveals voters are planning to send a message about the crunch at the pump when they head to the polls.
Almost 70 percent of our sample, told us that rising gas prices will have a major impact on how they cast their votes in upcoming elections.
Our survey was taken as government figures showed an average 10 cent price hike for a gallon of gas across the U.S. in March. Analysts are warning of the possibility of an average of $3.00 a gallon by the summer driving season, but some parts of the country are already seeing prices above that level.
Of the 950 people surveyed, an overwhelming 79 percent said they believed legislation could impact the situation and 30 percent said that they felt politicians held the primary responsibility for rising gas prices, second only to oil companies.
Asked what moves they would like to see, 39 percent favored new legislation to limit gas company profits, while 26 percent said that new laws to support the use of alternative fuels was the best option.
What options are available?
The government has stepped in to combat rising gas prices in the past. During the 1970s and 80s, the federal government imposed price controls and a windfall profits tax on oil companies in response to sharply rising gas prices.
However, a Department of Energy study covering the 25-year period following the introduction of price controls, concluded that the measures deterred new exploration within the U.S. and may have ultimately led to an increased dependence on foreign oil and higher prices.
The government already offers a number of programs designed to boost the use of alternative fuels and increase the numbers of hybrid cars on the road.
Car makers currently receive subsidies for producing "flex fuel" cars which offer the option of switching between ethanol and gas in response to price changes.
However, so far ethanol is only widely available in the Midwest and studies suggests it only becomes a cheaper alternative when gas reaches almost $4.00 a gallon.
During a recent South American trip, President Bush signed an agreement with Brazil designed to promote ethanol production and imports, but the U.S. refused to drop the 53 cents a gallon tariff it places on imports of the fuel from the country.
The U.S. Government says the tariff is necessary to promote American ethanol production. U.S. producers make the fuel from corn rather than the cheaper sugar cane used in Brazil.
Brazilian motorists are one of the world's largest users of ethanol, which became widely available in the 1970s after the then military government forced all service stations to sell the bio fuel alongside gas.
But measures already taken in the U.S. have sparked warnings from The Department of Agriculture that increases in the production of ethanol are driving up the cost of corn which is leading to higher food prices.
Increasing the number of fuel efficient cars on the road
Federal tax credits are already available to motorists buying hybrid gas/electric vehicles, but they are tied to the number of each model sold in a year meaning that the most successful vehicles lose this bonus more quickly than less popular rivals.
Hybrid cars and SUVs only make up about 2 percent of vehicles on U.S. roads. Higher purchase price offsets much of the lower fuel bills and recent studies have questioned if they deliver overall cost savings to most owners.
Studies show that increasing gas prices have already led consumers to buy more fuel efficient cars. If this trend continues it is one way to reduce demand.
Congress is currently discussing several proposals to force manufactures to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. The government sets average standards of fuel efficiency for cars sold in the U.S. but these regulations have not been changed since 1990.
But these moves have created a rare united front among car makers and their union leaders, who warned of job losses and higher costs if they were forced to produce vehicles that used an average of 34 miles to the gallon by the year 2017.
How great is the political pressure?
Our readers believe that legislation is needed to address the rising cost of gas, but some political observers doubt that prices have reached the level where they will be a major issue.
"Unless the price of gas becomes lifestyle altering, I don't think it will have an impact in the voting booth," said political consultant Randall P. Whatley.
Whatley, who has three decades of experience consulting on political campaigns, said "In the last fifteen to twenty years people have tended to cast their vote along more ideological lines." He added that if prices continued to rise he believed there was a point at which it would become a factor.
But our survey reveals the American public is demanding action and wants its political leaders to step up and pay attention to the issue or risk feeling the impact at the polls. If gas prices rise this summer, as predicted, the political pressure can only grow.
Published on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - Email to a friend
Copyright 2009 BuyingAdvice.com, INC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find New Cars
SEARCH BY MANUFACTURER
