Via Think Progress, we find a rather unusual tidbit from a recent John McCain interview. When the topic turns to the economy in general and gas prices in specific, Senator McCain is proposing a summer vacation from gas taxes to help out Americans. Strangely, though, he doesn’t seem to think it’s really going to change much.
I’m very concerned about it, Neil. And obviously the way it’s been going up is just terrible. But I think psychologically — and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological — the confidence, trust, the uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home. This might give them a little psychological boost.
Let’s have some straight talk, it’s not a huge amount of money. But it might be nice to be able to save a few bucks and maybe buy something else the next time that they have to fill up their gas tank and say, “You know I’m going to be able to afford that little expense now.” A little psychological boost. That’s what I think it would help.
See? You may think that gas and food prices are rising, jobs are being lost and the housing market is swirling near the bottom of the bowl. But it’s all in your head.
Senator McCain has recently stated that he believes the country is in a recession, while earlier this year he was sticking with the White House line in saying that it was just a temporary slow down. However, this interview seems to indicate that he simply can’t drag himself away from the idea that everything if going well enough but the bad economic news is some sort of partisan political plot. However, with consecutive months of job losses and another anticipated report of gross domestic production shrinkage, it may become harder and harder for politicians to paint those skies such a bright shade of blue.