Posted on 01/04/2015 11:52:21 AM PST by Olog-hai
The incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee says raising the federal fuel taxes is among the options under consideration to replenish the dwindling Highway Trust Fund.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota says all options must be looked at to fill an enormous shortfall when the existing highway legislation expires in May. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
i am not surprised they dont fight dermocrats.
i still am a little surprised when they ARE democrats.
I agree. The revenue is going to be raised one way or another. I’ll take a hike in the fuel tax — coupled with an annual user fee for vehicles that don’t run on motor fuels — over a GPS-based tolling system any day.
The first thing that should be done, but won’t be, is to restrict the Highway Trust Fund expenditures to only roads and bridges, not all the other projects that serve as money dumps in various distsricts
If I thought there were a modicum of accountability in DC, or attendant to those responsible for collecting this tax, I might understand. The way I see it, however, we’ve been feeding a big bag of waste for worse than nothing in return.
No problem....attached the bill to a balanced budget amendment...
So that makes it right to sell the tax as a source of funding road and bridge repairs and then spending the money on public transit. Like Catch 22, but with taxpayer dollars.
Thieving Washington bass turds.
Tell me once more, just what is the major differences between the Republican and Democrat parties? I forgot.
Tax those that can least afford it to spend more money. For goodness sake you just spent $1.2 trillion. Good republican principals. The GOP is no longer a political party it is a service organization for the Chamber of Commerce and the 1%.
I never in my life thought I could hate a bunch of politicians more than I hate the democrats but the GOP has changed all that.
What a Jack*ss, why can’t we say save a bit of money (and redirect it to infrastructure and transportation) by CUTTING funding to foreign governments, The U.N. and NGOs??
No problem. Just reach deeper into our pockets, and take all you need. We the people are rich ya know. While you’re at it make it law that you, and yours are exempt.
I’m not going to take any of that sh*t (pardon my language), but scraps are for DOGS, and we aren’t there yet!
I consider myself Libertarian/Republican, generally anti-tax, but you gonna use it, SOMEBODY’S got to pay for it. I used to pave roads, start from scratch. WAY more expensive than one would think. Scrape it, grade it, pound it, then we finally get to put asphalt/cement on the ground.
Users should pay. save for lawnmower fuel, gasoline/diesel moves vehicles down the road, and we the users ought to pay the freight. Gas tax apportions the cost as well as any mechanism I can think ok of.
So, most likely, we’ll end up with GPS tracking and tolling, but FReepers WILL BE HAPPY, since the gas “TAX” will not be raised, and that is ALL that matters (to them).
In 2012 the federal Government spent $3,600,000,000,000.00 dollars. Guess thats not enough for you? Fresh out of spare change are we?
“one of the strongest supporters for a hike in the fuel tax is the U.S. trucking industry.”
They don’t care what the cost of fuel is since the end consumer pays for it with higher priced goods, they don’t pay it just like any tax, business doesn’t ever pay a tax, EVER!!!!
Not exactly. The point here is that under normal circumstances you'd want each and every aspect of government to be financed on a "user pays" basis. I'm fine with that in principle, but a fuel tax of any kind would not meet this standard. Instead, you'd have a toll charged for the use of every inch of every roadway in America. Then it would truly be a "user pays" system.
The whole "user pays" model for public funding breaks down when one or both of the following conditions occur: (1) it is overly expensive and impractical to collect revenue this way; and/or (2) it's impossible to clearly identify the beneficiaries of the public expenditure and charge them accordingly. This is why transportation funding is always a dilemma for governments.
On a related note, let's be honest here. This country can't afford to maintain its transportation infrastructure because we are pushing ourselves into bankruptcy with all of the taxpayer funding for things where the beneficiaries are easily identified and can easily be charged accordingly -- like taxpayer-funded health care and public schools.
Former ‘Car Czar’ Rattner agrees: Now is the perfect time to raise gas tax
Steven Rattner @SteveRattner · Jan 2
Now is exactly the time to raise the gasoline tax. @SenBobCorker should be commended for his
stance http://nyti.ms/1xnVqxa
EXCERPTS
“If something like this is going to be done, now is the time to do it,” said Bob Corker, a Republican senator, who noted that gas prices in his home state of Tennessee fell below $2 a gallon this month. Senator Corker and Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, unveiled a proposal in June to raise the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon over the next two years and then index further increases to inflation.
(snip)
Senator Corker, who has tried to appease deficit hawks by proposing to reduce other taxes in exchange for a rise in the gas tax, said his plan would probably get caught up in negotiations about broader tax reform when the Republicans take control of both houses.
“The leadership is going to want the finance committee to come up with a larger package,” he said, adding that he was open to all sorts of options except a short-term fix. “The one thing I’m going to rail against is to kick the can down the road.”
That's the beauty of a fuel tax, or a toll. It's highly regressive in nature, which means everyone pays it even if they don't pay any income taxes. Heck -- even criminals and tax scofflaws pay fuel taxes.
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