Summer draws nigh and gas prices are at a record high.

Sigh.

To ease our pain at the pumps, political opponents John McCain and Hillary Clinton have a plan. They are proposing a bill that would decrease the sky’s-the-limit gas prices by 18 cents during the summer months.

It’s hard to see what the problem is with lower gas prices.

But, guess what?

Not only is it too little and too late, it’s a scam. And it should worry you.

The gas tax holiday bill would temporarily suspend the federal tax on gas, which is 18.4 cents per gallon for unleaded gasoline, from Memorial Day to Labor Day (May 26 to Sept. 1). But this tax break would be to the gas companies and there is no guarantee that the gas companies would pass on the profits to consumers.

Also, economists project that this tax break would deny the U.S. government $10 billion of lost tax revenue — money that would have been used on federal roads and highways.

Clinton proposes offsetting this loss by imposing a windfall-profits tax on the oil companies and McCain would offset this loss by diverting funds from other projects.

However, will all this really benefit the American consumers that much?

No, it won’t.

Many economists estimate that if the gas tax holiday proposal was passed, the average American driver would save only about $30 during this three-month period.

Clinton and McCain accused presidential candidate Barack Obama of being “out of touch” with the needs of Americans for denouncing this proposal. But is thinking that $30 will help American drivers really being “in touch” with them?

Economists estimate that this proposal, if passed, would be much more beneficial to the big oil companies than the American consumers.

McCain and Hillary’s support for this proposal is especially perplexing, given that it comes at a time when most environmentalists, economists and politicians, including McCain and Clinton, are trying to encourage lowering oil consumption and U.S.’s energy dependence.

Furthermore, some argue that rather than lowering the price of gas, it may increase it, as lowered price leads to increased demand, and increased demand with the same amount of supply usually leads to an increase in price.

Economists have almost unanimously rejected the proposal as a viable long-term solution. According to CNN, McCain even admitted to this being only a small, temporary measure, saying that “drivers would have a little money left over, maybe to buy a better meal, maybe to buy something for their kids.”

If that’s the most that this proposal can do for Americans, why are they still promoting this?

Most likely, this is a political gimmick intended to garner more votes from voters who are tired of paying an arm and a leg for gas.

Fortunately, the gas tax holiday proposal isn’t likely to pass, as many politicians are opposed to it.

However, even if the proposal does not pass, McCain and Clinton could appear like candidates who are dedicated to the plight of the common people, but only to people who are not looking at the situation closely.

It’s hard to see what the problem is with lower gas prices.

Consumers should not fall prey to the ploys of these politicians. The price of gas being lowered 18 cents per gallon for three months might sound great at first, but in the end, you would only save enough money to be able to have a night out at a nice restaurant or buy three complete albums of music from the iTunes store.