Posted on 12/08/2014 5:13:11 PM PST by Theoria
Gasoline prices are at their lowest level in four years. The price at the pump in many states is almost a full dollar cheaper than it was last spring.
So some politicians think this is a good time to raise gasoline taxes. Several states are tired of waiting for Congress to fix the federal highway trust fund, so they're considering raising gas taxes themselves to address their crumbling roads.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is trying to sell that state's legislators — especially those in his own Republican party — on raising the state's motor fuel tax to fund long neglected infrastructure needs.
"Do you know of anyone who says we have good roads in this state? Nobody," said Snyder at a recent speaking engagement after touring a crumbling retaining wall along the Lodge Freeway in Detroit.
Snyder is calling on lawmakers to roughly double Michigan's gas tax over time, to raise more than $1 billion.
"The money I'm talking about is to get us to fair to good roads. They're not even going to be great roads, folks. We can't afford to have great roads in this state given what we need to invest," he continued.
Snyder is one of a growing number of Republicans across the country who see the need to spend big to improve infrastructure, and who are looking to increase gas taxes to pay for it.
"There's kind of been a switch that's been flipped," says Carl Davis, a senior analyst with the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
BTW: What happened to Barry's "shovel ready" stimulus money? I thought we were fixing roads and bridges with that?
She’d get my vote over my dead body, which may happen at the rate things are tumbling.
I’m almost at the point where Alaska can just succeed for all I care.
The Republican/Democrat Uniparty establishment here in Iowa is pushing hard for a gas tax increase as well.
GOP Leaders: Gas Tax Hike CouldFixed.Fuel Fixes To Bad Roads And Bridgesallow political kickbacks from road contractors
let the republican governors that raise taxes follow the path of corbin in PA. gone.
On the other hand, did NPR report that Wis. Gov. Walker has floated the idea to remove the gas tax to sales tax, breaking the transportation financial needs away from the fluctuation of gas prices? Shortfalls occur with high prices.
Stop spending the money on trains, buses and bike trails
Quit stealing the gas taxes they get now for welfare and spend it on roads and they don’t need new taxes!!!
has everyone forgotten stimulus??
Start spending it on roads and freeways.
Americans have suffered high fuel prices @ the pump & paid more for product as a result, and when the fuel price drops the Republitards instantly and reflexively want to increase the tax? What a bunch of crap, can’t they understand we need a break? Wait, have they been in Boner’s booze stash again? I bet very few of them ever even had to pinch a buck to get by or conveniently forgot when they had to in their past. It’s getting old having to get pissed off and yell at them every time I turn around, seems they can’t be trusted to to what’s right for the people or the Nation to save their dumb, stupid, greedy, stinking asses.
It should be noted that Snyder is a strong supporter of getting the feds out of the infrastructure business for the most part.
When it came to the customs plaza for the new bridge over the Detroit river, Obama would only release the $250 million if Snyder would give $100 million of it to Detroit pension funds. Snyder refused and started the project without federal approval or money. We already got a spectacular deal on the bridge with Canada paying the $2 billion to build it and hiring 50% Americans to do the work.
Nobody is a fan of higher taxes but Snyder does have a long term strategy of breaking federal control of states.
And Bike lanes, they are wider and no pot holes then ours. I also thought the reinvestment shovel ready jobs were already going to fix the roads. California freeways have been torn up everywhere since the shovels got ready, still all unfinished.
Well, I mean, technically, the stimulus money went to democrat front groups so that it could be funneled back to the DNC as donations.
But I’m pretty sure I remember Obung0 saying roads and bridges while pushing Stimulus and Son of Stimulus and bride of Stimulus and..
Isn't that number missing three zeroes?
This is what the trillion dollar/shovel ready stimulus was for. These puke politicians are destroying this country
NPR lies about everything !
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