Can the government help to lower the price of gasoline?

The answer, quite simply, is no.

When looking at the possibility of our government intervening to provide a timely and effective relief strategy for high gas prices, there is virtually nothing, short of shutting down the country, that our government can do. Oh sure, they could suspend the federal gas tax for a while, but that would accomplish nothing. As shown by my Governor Jim Doyle (D-Wis.), if you pull the tax structure off gasoline, they'll just come for that money in some other manner. Wisconsin eliminated its automatic annual gas tax increase, so the good governor simply jacked us up for about 70% higher vehicle registration fees.

The government could attempt to stimulate increased refinery capacity. That might help some, but not for another ten years or so. Besides, our price at the pump is dictated by the demand for crude oil. Refinery capacity represents only a small fraction of the cost detail. Refinery capacity should be increased just as a measure of protection against extreme shortages caused by catastrophe, but as far as lowering your fuel cost in the next couple of years, new refineries mean nothing to you.