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Excuse me, is it not the good ole boys in Raleigh that steal from the highway to give to the pork projects?

I guess it needs repeating but:

* The transfer from the highway trust fund was instituted when the trust fund was created. Those transfers, for a time, got bigger than originally planned but have since been reduced.

* The current budget anticipates phasing out those transfers.

That said, yes, it's the folks in Raleigh - the legislature and governor - who instituted the highway trust fund transfer.

The flip side of that is that with the gas tax capped, regardless of the transfer, the trust fund isn't going to keep up with price inflation for road building materials.

Isn't this an economic issue, and not a political one?

What would happen if the federal, or for that matter, the state tax on gasoline was given a holiday?

It's economics 101.

First, the petroleum companies are under no obligation to lower the price just because there is less tax to pay.

-- So Problem 1 -- will eliminating the tax actually lower prices at the pump? It's not guaranteed. I don't know a conservative who would take a deal that wasn't.

But, let's assume that the price at the pump falls in response to the tax cut.

What happens then?

Lower prices mean that the purchaser's dollar buys more. That increases demand -- more people buy more gas.

Increasing demand -- wait for it -- increases prices.

That's right, kids. Cutting the gas tax would actually increase prices at the pump.

Is that what McCain intends? Probably not. But that's what he's proposed -- a plan that will increase the price of gas by lowering the tax.

Easley has a point here. All this will happen while gas tax money doesn't go into the highway fund.

If voters demand road repairs and constructions, lawmakers are liable to raise other taxes, or cut other services, to pay for those roads.

So, to sum, a gas tax cut will reasonably lead to higher prices at the pump and to tax increases, service cuts or both.

So, what would bring down the price of gas?

Well, again, I turn to Economics 101 and the Law of Supply and Demand.

You've got few choices:
1. Increase the supply -- Not the best answer because everyday world oil reserves grow lower and lower. It will cost more to reach new supplies. Every new barrel extracted will cost more than the last.

2. Reduce demand. But how would you do that?
-- a. You can reduce demand by reducing the need for oil -- fewer cars, fuel efficiency, conservation. Well the first one's out -- India and China are making cars and Americans aren't going to give up theirs. Fuel efficiency has been successfully obstructed in Congress, and domestic makers are light years behind on getting hybrid technologies to market, so dead end there. Conservation might work, but you'd have to be willing to ...
-- b. Increase the price of fuel -- Past performance shows that when the price of gas goes up, people conserve, they drive less, they carpool, they take the bus. But how could you increase the price of gas, without cutting back on its supply?

Answer: Increase the fuel tax.

If McCain knew anything about Economics 101, he'd know that the fastest way to cut the price of gasoline would be to raise the tax, not cut it.

But then again, he's already admitted that economics is his weak subject.