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[Tyrone Slothrop]

A-ha. This is what I was thinking of:

• Some politicians have trouble distinguishing between tax day and April Fools' Day. After all, they both come in April -- it's so confusing. This year, Senator McCain pulled the best prank -- he proposed a huge tax break for Exxon and the other big oil companies. With a straight face he announced that he wanted to eliminate the gas tax during the summer driving season to save drivers money....
  
  [P]rice is determined by demand, because supply is constrained by the refinery capacity of Exxon and the other big oil companies.... [With] fixed... supply, so the price will go as high as is necessary to eliminate any shortages. If the price of gas is determined by demand, then what happens to the price when we eliminate the gas tax? That's right, absolutely nothing. The price will stay exactly the same, drivers will pay as much for gas during the summer driving season as they would have paid if the tax was left in place. The difference is that instead of 18.4 cents a gallon going to the government to pay for maintaining roads and bridges, this money will go to Exxon to keep CEO pay high, and make Exxon shareholders happier.

Dean Baker.