US Congressman Jim McDermott of Seattle is pushing legislation this summer that would offer "gas stamps" to mainly poor Americans to purchase gasoline -- similar to food stamps for the poor to purchase food. He's tried to have this enacted in the past, but to no avail. But with gas at or above $4.00 a gallon, perhaps he'll have more success in the legislative process.

If anyone one group of people deserves aid in this way, I'd say it should go to long haul truck drivers -- but in the form of tax credits. I don't really support the idea of offering gas stamps to the poor. Bus passes, yes. But not free gasoline. And if it did pass, I think it should disproportionally go to poor, rural folks. There is little in the way of public transit in rural areas, and many live rather far from schools, grocery stores and medical facilities.

What's missing here is that middle income folks are being terribly pinched by the gas situation. And to leave them high and dry when they can hardly afford to make it to work because of expensive gas misses a huge segment of the population that deserves attention.

I would just flat out subsidise the truckers. Cost of shipping goods is way out of control, and we really have built up our society, assuming that just won't be the case.

People can choose to drive or not, but basically can't choose to eat.

On a related note, I see a lot of abuse on the food stamp / Oregon Trail system. Maybe it's just the people I happen to bump into. Don't know, but the rules are permissive enough to allow many people to just eat out of quick marts and such. That's expensive food, per useful unit of food energy. And it's lousy too.

Also see a fair number of people, who carry more cash than I do, using those cards, or groups of cards to buy stuff. I don't know their scene, but that strikes me as odd too.

My gut says the gas thing would be popular and abused in similar ways.

No gas stamps for anyone. Buy a scooter if you're than hard up and can't afford gas for your car.

On a related note, I see a lot of abuse on the food stamp / Oregon Trail system. [...] Don't know, but the rules are permissive enough[...]
Let's not forget the families at the checkout with nothing but the most expensive name-brand foods, 2 or 3 kids, each of which has their own cell phone and MP3 player, and the parents are yakking on their cell phones during the entire check-out, when they pull out an Oregon Trail card to buy their groceries.

Bus passes, yes. But not free gasoline.
This has been one of the largest arguments for years, that public transit is always available for the poor to use. However, many people out there have jobs far away from bus routes, or would have two or three hour commutes from their job each way, due to transfers and waiting (because they live in the section of town they can afford, or in a cheap outlying community with relatively inferior bus service). Or, their work hours are before or after transit service is available. And what in the world do you do if you live in Salem, have a low-paying service job, can't afford to move, and you have to work days where transit service isn't available at all (because Cherriots is hated down there)?

What's missing here is that middle income folks are being terribly pinched by the gas situation.
My idea is to change wage and hour laws to require that all wages be adjusted for inflation in the same manner and percentage the minimum wage is adjusted each year in both Oregon and Washington. Otherwise, even the "anti-socialism" business managers are going to have a tough time keeping their doors open when all the worker bees are calling in because they can't afford gas and the business was purposely located off of transit routes.