SUVs and oil politics

www.usatoday.com Posted 1/21/2003 8:17 PM

Much of the world and some of the American public already believe that the Bush administration's plan to drive Saddam Hussein from power is a thinly disguised grab for Iraq's rich oil reserves. Little wonder, then, that the White House ignited a furor by proposing more generous tax breaks for certain businesses that buy the biggest gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles. Talk about sending the wrong message at the wrong time.

The tax break, tucked into the economic stimulus plan that President Bush unveiled earlier this month, would raise from $25,000 to $75,000 the deduction small business owners can claim right away on the purchase of a heavy SUV or pickup.

The loophole could boost SUV sales at the same time a group of anti-SUV crusaders has launched TV ads linking foreign-oil profits to terrorism. And the proposal comes on the heels of warnings last week by the president's own traffic-safety experts about SUV safety problems.

A White House spokesman says the proposal doesn't promote SUVs over other vehicles. Rather, it's designed to help small companies buy equipment and create jobs.

Perhaps. But by proposing special treatment for gas-guzzlers, the administration suggests it is tone deaf to concerns about the nation's seemingly unlimited appetite for oil and its effect on the environment.

Among the worries:

• Oil prices are spiking at two-year highs of $34 a barrel. And the United States continues to be dependent on oil-producing countries with unsavory or unstable regimes, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria. Encouraging Americans to buy more vehicles that get low gas mileage could increase reliance on these foreign suppliers.

• The administration is poised to launch another Gulf War in part because of the danger Iraq poses to the world's largest oil reserves. If Saddam acquired a nuclear weapon, as the U.S. fears, he would be within striking distance of Saudi Arabia's oil fields. Because of the USA's high oil consumption, it can't risk such a threat.

The White House has company on both bad timing and cavalier behavior. At Detroit's annual auto show this month, the automakers unveiled "muscle cars" as a special theme. Anyone in the mood for a 1,000-horsepower Cadillac?

Retreating on the SUV tax break won't prevent war in the gulf, curb global warming or ease U.S. dependence on imported oil. But it could show that the U.S. considers each a real concern.