Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

I just stumbled upon this smart little mashup. You can drag and zoom the map itself, or use the search function to peep current gas prices around the country.

Poor California! 

I conducted a little experiment this weekend while driving to Kentucky. Normally, a long holiday weekend in the woods is a great way to have big fun on the cheap. With gas prices breaking hearts and records these days, the prospect of 750 miles round-trip warranted a consultation of the 'ol checking balance before embarking.

I decided to follow a few of the tips I'd recently read, in an effort to squeeze a little more out of a tank of gas. I drove the speed limit. Well...five over, versus my normal 8-10 over. The weather was gorgeous all weekend, so I drove a large portion of the way with windows up, air off, vent on high. I tried to avoid crazy acceleration/deceleration. I don't have cruise control, but I tried my best to maintain an even speed. Now check THIS out:

I filled up twice, and did the math between, so I know that my total fuel for the tank measured was 9.9 gallons. Even with highway mountain driving, and little mountain roads up to the trail head, I managed to squeeze out 430 miles. That's 43.43 mpg on a 10-year-old car! My civic is usually good for 40 on the highway, but more like 35-37 when you factor in the mountains. At $3.94/gallon, this is an experiment I will surely be replicating.

This Presidential primary season is wearing me out. I'm tired. Both Democratic candidates are offering attractive platforms of change, but on the surface there have been very few stark differences between them...UNTIL NOW.

Insert the smoke and mirror parlor trick that is the Gas Tax Holiday.

On April 6th I bought a tank of gas for my 1998 Honda Civic HX** at $3.29 per gallon. Yesterday I purchased a tank of gas for $3.54 per gallon, almost exactly one month after the previous. I feel it. It hurts. Something must be done. Is it elitist and out of touch for me to feel that this 'holiday' being proposed by Clinton and McCain is so much hot wind blowing down Pandering Alley?

I took economics in college. Even if I had not, I would still smell a rat. Who's going to pay for this? According to Clinton, Big Oil is going to cough up the $8 billion in the form of a windfall profit tax. Never mind that there is no precedent for this tax. Never mind that this tax has not yet even been proposed, but rather is part of the bundled proposition set forth by the Clinton campaign. What if it doesn't pass? Who will pay for it? Both of those questions were rhetorical. It will not pass - it's been tried and has died before. I will pay for it. And you. In the short run, we'll simply play middle man between China and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, 18.4 cents worth of Federal highway dollars will be getting sucked down the ol' drain for every single gallon of gas purchased during this proposed holiday. This, during an election cycle focused in part on the dire straits of our national infrastructure.

Using today's pre-Memorial Day price as a benchmark, trimming that 18.4 cents off the top - and rounding up, of course - puts the price of gas at $3.36 per gallon. Sounds dreamy, I know. Now imagine the siphon on demand that will be created by the knowledge that, once the 'holiday' is over, the prices will catapult back to an adjusted level. People will line up at the pumps to top off their tanks. Demand goes through the roof. OPEC is not going to increase production just because we decided to take a break from reality. The reality is, profit margins for Big Oil will skyrocket.

I'm hearing the argument that the anticipated household savings of $28-$30 over the course of the 3 month tax holiday is tangible to working Americans, and that anyone opposed to the plan is out of touch with the middle class struggle. I disagree. Ten dollars is a non-issue in all but the most restrictive of monthly budgets. In the case of those most restricted household budgets, blowback will in some way or another generously offset that monthly ten spot. If this is allowed to play out, we will all be out far more than $30. I have not seen anything resembling a perfect way out of this mess we've gotten ourselves into. But come on - can't we at least try to keep our feet on the ground as we try to work through it?

My thoughts to this point have been overtly, unapologetically political, so let me end on a marketing communications note. No matter how bad an idea this is...no matter how much of a gimmick you may or may not believe it to be...I believe this proposed holiday is a marketing maneuver that will deliver for Hillary Clinton, in the form of primary votes in Indiana. People are frustrated over gas prices, and regardless of the facts of the case, this marketing tactic gives the good vibe of John Q. Public reaching out and touching his government.

** Stay tuned for my upcoming article on the choices we make as consumers of petroleum. My 1998 Honda Civic HX is 10 years old, with 158,000+ miles. I still get 37mpg city, 41mpg highway. I'm not trying to be smug or arrogant. But seriously, what the hell?