Posted on 07/22/2002 7:43:08 AM PDT by vannrox
Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans age 6 to 28 and result in more permanent disabling injuries than any other type of accident. This serious public health situation could become even worse if several proposals recently floated on Capitol Hill ever become law.
The price of gasoline has been climbing steadily in recent weeks and could go even higher before the summer travel season ends. It is well understood that the price increase is due to a shortage of refinery capacity in the United States, the seasonal changeover to cleaner gasoline and distribution limitations. These are problems that can only be solved by building new refinery capacity and increasing the supply of gasoline.
Nevertheless, there are some special interest groups and members of Congress calling for a suspension or repeal of all or part of the 18.3 cents-per-gallon federal gasoline tax as the solution to the current situation. The simple fact is that the gas tax-unchanged since 1993-has nothing to do with the current prices that consumers are experiencing at the pump.
There is also no guarantee that a gas tax cut would even be passed onto consumers. Both Indiana and Illinois temporarily repealed their state sales tax on gasoline purchases last summer in response to increasing motor fuel prices. The result? The average price of gasoline in both states continued to increase during the period the tax cuts were in place-about 20 cents per gallon. The move also reduced revenue to the Indiana and Illinois state governments by about the equivalent of seven cents per gallon.
One thing is certain, however, if we suspend or repeal the federal gas tax. All 50 states would experience a dramatic decrease in federal highway funding. An American Road & Transportation Builders Association analysis found that a six-month suspension of the entire federal gas tax would cost states $12 billion in federal highway investment. The proposal to repeal 4.3 cents-per-gallon of the federal gas tax would cut revenues by more than $5.5 billion annually.
Reducing or repealing the federal gas tax-the source of 43 percent of all highway capital improvement funding in the U.S.-would delay urgently needed road improvement projects, threaten safety and rob the nation of air quality benefits that accrue from less congested and well maintained roads.
America can't afford to cut back on highway investment. A recent U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) report says that a 50 percent increase in highway investment would be needed just to maintain current congestion and travel times, let alone make any improvements. The USDOT also says that poor road conditions or outdated alignments are a factor in 15,000 U.S. road-related fatalities each year. Cutting the federal highway user fee could make this problem more severe.
Over the past 50 years, every $1 billion invested by the public in road improvements has helped prevent 1,400 premature deaths and nearly 50,000 injuries. This has saved American society over $2 billion in health care, insurance, lost wages and productivity costs. Cutting the gas tax would also jeopardize this public health return from investment in transportation.
If the federal gas tax is repealed or reduced, we will face increased risks on the roads we travel every day. Without this revenue, our roads will be more congested and less safe-for everyone.
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John Wight is 2001 chairman of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association and executive vice president of HNTB Corporation in Fairfield, N.J.
Silly stuff! This guy can't lie very well.
Not true, in fact the state(in) made a real effort to keep the prices down.
Get a job.
Seems to me he might have an intrest in the tax. I believe the roads should be toll anyway. At least you should have to maintain them by state and not the feds.
If you drive on the roads you should pay for them not having someone in NC pay for a road in Ill or Indiana.
Any state that can't survive without that "dramatic decrease in federal highway spending" can simply raise their own gas tax by 18.3 cents per gallon to make up for the lost revenue.
If John Wight is an executive vice president for HNTB and he couldn't even figure that one out, then maybe I should be his boss.
"Reducing or repealing the federal gas tax-the source of 43 percent of all highway capital improvement funding in the U.S.-would delay urgently needed road improvement projects, threaten safety and rob the nation of air quality benefits that accrue from less congested and well maintained roads."
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Drivers are taking to the roadways in record numbers
"Keeping the nation’s people and goods moving is a continuous battle, and HNTB is on the front lines.
HNTB has planned and designed thousands of miles of interstate highway and roadways. Our roadway experience encompasses planning, design and construction of interstate, rural and urban highways; freeway-to-freeway interchanges; toll facilities and city streets. Additional services include transportation corridor planning and construction management.
We know what drives contractor costs so we design to stay within budget. We see what snarls traffic so we integrate the latest technology to relieve gridlock. And we understand local and regulatory issues so we can guide clients and involve the public. We drive the same streets and highways that you do and we're dedicated to improving America’s roadways."
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John Wight couldn't possibly be a little biased on this issue, could he?
Naaah... it's "for the children", of course.
-CD
It's also worth noting that the federal gasoline tax was increased from 14 to 18.3 cents per gallon in 1993 as a "deficit-reduction" measure. The extra 4.3 cents per gallon tax should have been immediately eliminated once federal politicians began taking credit for a single budget "surplus."
Wait a minute! I though handguns were...
sigh
A lot of toll roads end up becoming patronage mills, the Pennsylvania Turnpike being a prime example.
I've got news for you, dufus. "America" isn't investing in highways, American's are doing so, and at gunpoint. The way it's done now, they're taxed whether they like it or not, and to get their slice of their own money, the state must have in place, and enforce laws regarding speed limits, DUI BAL percentages, compliance with EPA BS, helmet laws, etc, etc. Even then, not all the money comes back, because the socialists administering the system need an income to pay the high Washington area cost of livling.
Wouldn't it be more reasonable for the citizens of the individual states to decide whether they needed new roads and how to finance them, with no strings attached about what rights they had to give up to get back some of the money they had already earned once but had then paid at the pump??
This statement alone tells me this author does not know what they are talking about. The federal gas taxes go directly to offset the general budget - not just the transportation budget.
Besides, when has there EVER been a cut in spending? You know it wont happen as long as there are politicians in office. They will vote their pork barrel projects in REGARDLESS of how much is raised in taxes.
Just my .02
The 4.3 cents that was added in 1993 was directed to the general budget, but I think that was changed in 1998 or 1999 when the federal government was officially operating at a so-called "surplus."
The definition of a slave. We are either slaves to the car payments or slaves to the gas tax or slaves to highway maintenance.
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