Friend --

And so it has come to this. Today, President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes amounting to 18 cents/gallon for three months. He urged states to take similar action.

The past months' gas prices have been painful for everyday people like us. Had Democrats and Republicans listened to the last 12 years of warnings from Greens and others calling for a Green New Deal — that dependence on fossil fuels was becoming increasingly environmentally and financially unsustainable — we might be in a very different place than we are today.

Instead of accounting for the true cost of dirty energy, pricing it accurately and using that revenue to build a system of 100% clean, renewable, public power, elites in government either obstructed reasonable carbon pricing or did nothing at all. Now, we are paying high prices at the pump and gaining no benefit. The only benefits go to Big Oil's tyrants and profiteers.

It's tempting to call this a lack of leadership from Biden, the Democrats and our government. But that would be a mistake. Biden is expertly distracting us from solutions that would empower everyday people, bust up fossil fuel industry collusion, make corporations and the 1% pay a fair share from their windfall profits, and provide a Just Transition away from dirty energy.

This country desperately needs real leadership, accountable to people, planet and peace over profit. Will you donate $18 today to recruit, train and support Green candidates and elected officials who will fight for real solutions?

Rather than recognize this moment as a giant red flag warning the consequences of dirty energy are rapidly escalating, Biden is recommending we effectively subsidize fossils fuels through this tax "holiday." His solution to our addiction to oil is to double down. And there is nothing to stop oil companies from offsetting this tax "relief" by increasing their prices!

At the same time, we'll bleed even more funding away from our shamefully-neglected infrastructure. All for what is, at best, a gimmick to win votes.

Abolishing student debt, for which we have long advocated, would alleviate immense stress on the households of everyday people without sending a single puff of additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Elites treat this idea with scorn.

A gas holiday of 18 cents/gallon will only accelerate the ravaging of our climate and ecosystems. But a monthly contribution of $18 could accelerate the destruction of this two-party, corporate duopoly and build a road toward an Ecosocialist Green New Deal.

If you're already giving as a Monthly Sustainer — at any amount — thank you! And we thank all who make the continued work of the Green Party possible. Help us expose this gas tax "holiday" for the scam it is.

In Solidarity,
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org/