A Gas Tax Holiday Is Performative Nonsense | The Professor Is In

Think Like An Economist

What happens when politicians try to look like they’re fixing high gas prices without actually fixing them? Justin Wolfers explains why a federal gas tax holiday is bad economics, good theater, and a gift to oil companies.  In a follow-up to his explainer episode, Justin answers audience questions about windfall taxes, what smarter relief could look like, whether a diesel tax holiday make any more sense, and why gas prices carry so much psychological weight in American politics. Like and review for more clear-eyed economics with Justin Wolfers.
More description
What happens when politicians try to look like they’re fixing high gas prices without actually fixing them? Justin Wolfers explains why a federal gas tax holiday is bad economics, good theater, and a gift to oil companies.  In a follow-up to his explainer episode, Justin answers audience questions about windfall taxes, what smarter relief could look like, whether a diesel tax holiday make any more sense, and why gas prices carry so much psychological weight in American politics. Like and review for more clear-eyed economics with Justin Wolfers.
2026-05-30 22 min Transcript
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

Open the Transcript tab to load the transcript.

Chapters

No chapters available.