'Gas-Tax Holiday' Would Be No Vacation

I didn't plan to take a holiday this summer, but politicians are trying to foist one on me.

What's more, the reason given -- to ease the cost burden of gasoline -- doesn't even seem like it will pan out.

Presidential candidates Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) and Sen. John McCain (R. Ariz.) want to convince me that proposals for a summer-long "gas-tax holiday" will ease the burden of $4-a-gallon gasoline for my family.

Politicians and oil companies, however, may be the only beneficiaries of these proposals if uninformed voters buy into the plans.

Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) announced a $10.89 billion first-quarter profit last week. Investors balked, partly due to concerns about decreasing production. But the fact remains that Exxon has enjoyed its second-best quarterly profit in its history.

Sen. McCain wants to suspend the 18.4-cent per gallon federal gasoline excise tax -- which funds highway repairs -- and stop summertime purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the nation's emergency petroleum stash.

Sen. Clinton announced a proposal to temporarily suspend the gas tax and pay for it by imposing a windfall tax on oil companies, such as Exxon Mobil, Conoco(COP Quote), BP(BP Quote) and Chevron(CVX Quote). Sen. Clinton also proposes stopping purchases for the SPR, but would also release some fuel to ease market volatility when the supplies are short.

How many people are listening to minutiae when the words "gas tax holiday" are dominating the airwaves?

I asked some economists what they thought about the so-called gas tax holiday. Here's what I learned:

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