Luckily, Obama may provide just the tiebreaker.

Moments ago, Politico reported that in his final budget, Obama is set to unveil an ambitious plan for a "21st century clean transportation system." which will be funded by a $10/barrel tax on oil.

Punishment for evil oil companies, you say? Not so fast: any government tax would be immediately passed on to those US consumers who recently had to take out a second-lien subprime loan to finish funding the purchase of that brand new Ford F-150 truck.

Obama aides told POLITICO that when he releases his final budget request next week, the president will propose more than $300 billion worth of investments over the next decade in mass transit, high-speed rail, self-driving cars, and other transportation approaches designed to reduce carbon emissions and congestion. To pay for it all, Obama will call for a $10 "fee" on every barrel of oil, a surcharge that would be paid by oil companies but would presumably be passed along to consumers.