But there are better ways to help people squeezed by inflation than suspending gas taxes. California and New Jersey are on the right track: They’re looking at sending checks to state residents that can be used as people wish. For heavy drivers, the checks would help cover gasoline, which is up 38 percent in the 12 months through February. For others the money might be more useful for, say, college tuition (up 2 percent), rent (up 5 percent), milk (up 11 percent) or meat (up 14 percent)…

Why not just cut the gas tax? For one thing, it’s hard to justify insulating people from an increase in the price of one particular product when there are so many other things that people also need to spend money on.

Even if you, a state legislator, are in the mood for cutting one product’s cost to consumers, gasoline is one of the worst choices you could make. Not as bad a choice as cigarettes, to be sure, but still bad. Burning gasoline causes pollution locally (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates) and contributes to global warming (through greenhouse gases). And driving contributes to time-wasting congestion as well as accidents.