It’s Not a Joke. Congress Might Send Out $100 Stimulus Checks For Gas

When I first read the article from cbsnews.com, I thought it had to be a tongue-in-cheek kind of story.

Something along the lines of, "And now the government is responding to the criticism the current administration is facing regarding inflation and the price of fuel, so they are going to send out more stimulus checks to try and right their wrongs."

It Has To Be A Joke, Right?

Yeah, that's what I thought.  It was just a joke. But alas, it's the real thing, and apparently another saga in this world of entitlement in which we are currently living.

Here's the gist of the story.

As the price of fuel has reached an all-time high, three Democratic Congressmen, Mike Thompson of California, John Larson of Connecticut and Lauren Underwood of Illinois have proposed legislation that, if passed, would send $100 monthly stimulus checks to Americans until the average price of fuel falls back under $4 per gallon.

In their original article, cbsnews.com writes,

Under the bill, both joint and single tax filers would receive $100 each, while each dependent would also receive $100 each.

Single people earning less than $75,000 annually would receive the full $100 rebate, while the checks would be phased out for people earning up to $80,000.

Joint filers who earn less than $150,000 would qualify, with the payment phased out at up to $160,000 in household income.

It's Not Our Fault. Let's Blame The Oil Companies

Though the exact details of the proposed bill have yet to be released, it appears as though these payments would be made from a new tax that government would levy on oil companies they are calling "Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax."

While I'm not the type of person who would ever look a gift horse in the mouth, this one has a bad smell to it.  Nothing is free!  It would appear that government's solution is to throw money at every problem.  Guess they'll just print more.

While some would argue that this would be an attempt to force oil companies to reduce the prices at the pump, I see the complete opposite happening.

I'm Not Sure That's Exactly How Business Works

When a company sees a rise in cost of business, don't they normally pass that cost to their customers?  Thus begins the never ending circle of doom.

And how would oil companies navigate this drop in price?  Aren't most, if not all, oil companies, publicly traded? So, whatever crude futures are trading for is the price, right?

I certainly don't see this as the fiscally responsible response to this crisis.

I would think that a reduction in taxes would be the better option. Some states are already moving in that direction by temporarily reducing or even eliminating the state taxes.

Course, if this legislation passes, I'll be rooting for other inflation caused price increase stimulus checks down the road for things like bass boats and rifle ammunition.