U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman is trying to do the right thing.
It pretty much goes without saying that $70 a barrel crude and $3 a gallon gas is hard to take for any of us who grew up with the assumption that cheap gas was our birthright. Fortunately, most Americans can make up the difference between what we are paying now at the pump and what we paid a year ago by switching our morning coffee purchase from Starbucks to Kwik Trip. The pain is real enough, but not critical. For most of us.
But the natural result of a finite supply and booming world-wide demand is hitting some folks hard. People who were already barely scraping by and who have no option but to drive to work, drive to the store, drive to go about life’s necessary tasks have seen fiddle-string tight budgets stretched beyond the breaking point by spiking fuel costs.
To his credit, Coleman has recognized this and, on Wednesday, placed a bill before the U.S. Senate to do something about it.
Briefly summarized, Coleman’s bill would, for the next two years, provide federal block grants to the states to fund motor fuel assistance programs for low-income households. The program would be funded by requiring oil companies to account for the increased value of their inventories resulting from higher prices and then paying taxes on that gain.
We like Coleman’s proposal for several reasons. First, it won’t put the country deeper in debt. The grant program will be paid for by dollars that flowed into the oil companies’ bank accounts from selling products purchased at last year’s cost for this year’s price. What goes around, comes around.
Second, states are responsible for setting eligibility standards based on the needs of their people. What may be appropriate in Wyoming — where everything is a long way from everything else and the only practical way to get there is to drive — will certainly be different from the standard for New York or Boston — where public transportation is readily available and for most people driving is an option, not a necessity. It’s not a one-size-fits-all federal quick-fix.
Third, it actually addresses a real problem in a meaningful way at a reasonable cost. The proposal echoes the heating fuel assistance programs that have proven effective in helping low-income citizens deal with increased costs, and we have every confidence that, borrowing that model, a motor fuel assistance program will help people of limited means deal with this sudden shock to their budget.
And last, we like the fact that Coleman has written a sunset provision into the bill. It is explicitly intended as a temporary means of addressing a short-term crisis, and implicit in its concept is the recognition that we need to get with the serious business of addressing our long-term energy needs and energy costs. We need to confront the crisis, but, even more so, we need to work toward a solution. Coleman’s bill points us toward doing both. He’s doing the right thing.
By Jerome Christenson on behalf of the Winona Daily News editorial board, which also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham, editor Darrell Ehrlick, photo editor James A. Bowey and sales and marketing manager Tom Best. To comment, call 453-3522 or e-mail letters@ winonadailynews.com.
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