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Proposal to lift gasoline tax puts S.C. running on empty

Senate needs to kill this blatant election-year pandering

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We can't afford it.

What is it about those four simple words that so many of the people in charge of government just don't get?

Before you jump to any conclusions, we're not talking about the profligacy in Washington -- usually the worst offender when it comes to buying now and paying later.

We're talking about South Carolina, where the governor and some legislators trotted out one of the most short-sighted, half-baked ideas that's come along in quite a while. Like some other bad ideas dreamed up in Columbia, the engine driving this one has everything to do with short-term political gain and nothing to do with the state's best long-term interests.

Here's what they want to do: Eliminate the tax on gasoline the state charges at the pump -- 16.8 cents per gallon -- for three months.

At first blush, the idea has some appeal. You'd save $3.02 on an 18-gallon fill-up at the corner gas station, more if your tank is bigger. The savings from eliminating the tax would make $3-a-gallon gas a lot easier to take.

The idea certainly might have appeal for some legislators seeking re-election in November. You can already hear them on the stump, crowing about how they helped the little people by making gasoline cheaper.

But there's a big downside -- and here's where the idea hits the we-can't-afford-it wall. The gasoline tax would be suspended for three months, from October through December. It would mean $134 million in lost revenue to the state.

That's revenue needed for highway construction and maintenance not just here, but all over South Carolina. In fact, two days after the House of Representatives approved lifting the gas tax, state transportation officials suggested charging tolls on Interstate 95 to raise money for long-neglected maintenance on the highway.

And we're supposed to get along without the tax? It's not like it's a killer anyway -- at 16.8 cents a gallon, it's almost half the national average.

Bad as the idea seems now, it was even worse when originally hatched. The first version had the tax being suspended over the summer months. That would be the absolute worst time to lift it, because so much of the tax paid from June through August is paid by tourists vacationing in the state.

To their credit, local legislators ripped the idea of suspending the tax.

"A ridiculous idea," said Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island.

"Too much politics and not enough public policy," said Rep. Richard Chalk, R-Hilton Head, who voted against the measure, along with Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, and Rep. Thayer Rivers, D-Ridgeland.

They weren't willing to trade away the state's long-term interests for temporary political gain.

When the measure gets to the Senate, it needs to be killed quickly.