Trust me... 
Posted on 06/18/2014 5:08:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Two U.S. senators on Wednesday proposed raising federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes by 12 cents a gallon [3.2 cents a liter] over the next two years to keep a road and bridge fund from going broke.
The gasoline tax now stands at 18.4 cents a gallon, and the diesel tax at 24.4 cents a gallon. The politically sensitive levies have not been increased since 1993.
The senators' plan faces an uphill fight this year, with congressional elections coming in November.
Senators Bob Corker, a Republican, and Chris Murphy, a Democrat, called for the tax increase, with the new revenue going to replenishing the federal Highway Trust Fund.
The fund pays for about half the country's spending on transportation projects and is projected to run out of money by the end of August.
“If Americans feel that having modern roads and bridges is important then Congress should have the courage to pay for it,” said Tennessee's Corker, in a joint statement.
Murphy, of Connecticut, said, “I know raising the gas tax isn't an easy choice, but we're not elected to make easy decisions -- we're elected to make the hard ones.”(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at voanews.com ...
Trust me...
Unless these elected criminals give us a detailed accounting as to where and how the gas taxes of the last 20 years have been spent, they might as well p*** up a rope!
To say nothing of the Omugabe $1trillion "stimulus!"
We should have gold plated highways and bridges!
I’m a little fuzzy here. Could someone remind me why I should hold my nose and vote for a rhino?
Rhino = rino. Stupid auto correct.
That's the trouble with the country!
Too many people can't take a leap of imagination (or common sense) and continue viewing those as the only 2 choices!
Both of our cars require premium. I have been paying $4 a gallon for awhile now. They can take their gas taxes and shove em.
When something is bipartisan, you know that the taxpayer is going to somehow get screwed.
Has taxes are high enough already. The government profits more than the eeeevil big oil companies. Enough is enough...
Raise fuel prices and it will do several things. Increase everyone’s cost for ALL goods, causes more unemployment, & DECREASES OVERALL TAX REVENUE due too tightened household and business budgets. So Senator Corker, which Tennessee or other contractors who win these construction bids are behind this?
“That’s the trouble with the country!
Too many people can’t take a leap of imagination (or common sense) and continue viewing those as the only 2 choices!”
Third choice is maybe converting our freeways to toll roads (as the President has proposed, and is likely to happen unless the gas tax is increased).
That would be FINE if you could figure out a way to get rid of the CRONY CAPITALISM that goes with toll roads. Not too long ago, Pennsylvania applied to convert Interstate 80 (a freeway) into a toll road. They were rejected because the present transportation bill only permits tolling to the level needed to maintain (and maybe improve) that PARTICULAR highway - but Pennsylvania had bigger plans - they were going to JACK UP tolls massively to pay for public transportation in Philadelphia - when told that was not permitted, they didn’t bother even tolling the road (because another little secret is that maintaining an existing highway is cheap, relatively speaking), so the tolls they were permitted to charge would have to be next to nothing. Not worth the effort then. You see, relatively few people live in that part of Pennsylvania and much of the traffic on that highway is pass-through. So once Pennsylvania was told that they couldn’t EXTORT motorists and truckers, they had no interest in tolling. But EXTORTING is permitted in the new Obama Transportation proposal.
So maybe you have an idea that could work - but no one has proposed it yet that I know of.
I voted for the far more Conservative DEM running against him.
I enjoyed Corker working over the UAW honcho back when the car bailout hearings were going on back in 2008/9.
Sorry to see he’s got these tendencies.
Yea like the University of Tennessee in Knoxville obtaining control of a federal highway {The Dixie Lee aka The Strip, Kingston Pike/ Cumberland Ave} and cutting it down from four lanes to two so the universities Liberal Green Village Idiots will be happy.
In general I try to avoid voting for Republicans from the Chattanooga area due to a long standing bipartisan oligarchy. Chattanooga became a haven for persons who left town {Knoxville} after the 1982 Worlds Fair failure and fiasco's connected to it including two bank failures.
As odd as it seems I am also in a congressional district included in the Chattanooga area even though I live north of Knoxville.
Hell, just go for it all, let’s just double every damn tax in the entire government. Think of all the money they’ll have to ‘invest’!!!!
“Probably won’t happen, but I certainly prefer to pay, maybe, $100 more in a gas tax, than THOUSANDS more in tolls”
You will probably get both.
Like the Big Dig in Boston, and that disaster they have going on now in Seattle.
I’m entirely in favor of it... AFTER:
1. All of the -——STOLEN—— money that has been spent on everything BUT roads, bridges, infrastructure has been paid back, including the removal of tolls from roads that have already been paid for several times over;
2. From that point, every nickel collected goes to the intended purposes only.
Unless items one and two are addressed FIRST, they can go to hR#$.
“You will probably get both.”
Oh, you WILL get both. And, the “mileage tax” idea? Does any rational person ACTUALLY BELIEVE FOR A MOMENT that will be a -replacement- for the gas tax in order to accommodate alternate fueled vehicles? Ha.
As of July 1, 2014: Rates for 3 toll roads just in the Seattle area.
Number of Axles
Pass/ Cash/ Pay By Mail
Two $4.50 $5.50 $6.50
Three $6.75 $8.25 $9.75
Four $9.00 $11.00 $13.00
Five $11.25 $13.75 $16.25
Six or more $13.50 $16.50 $19.50
Really? Raise taxes to pay for maintenance? My mother pays through the nose every time she leaves her house...and again when she returns returns. The Gov. is doing everything it can to suck money out of your pocket at EVERY turn.
Murphy, of Connecticut, said, “I know raising the gas tax isn’t an easy choice, but we’re not elected to make easy decisions — we’re elected to make the hard ones.”
I beg to differ! Raising taxes is always the easy way out. Actually cutting spending is the hard choice!
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