http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/gastax/ en-us Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:11:04 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292721/posts The social and economic costs of lost productivity and wasted fuel from traffic-choked streets are estimated to be $87 billion a year, according to the Texas Transportation Institute’s 2009 Urban Mobility Report. So far, federal, state and local efforts — focused mostly on expanding road capacity — have been largely unsuccessful at slowing the growing congestion on U.S. roads. Transportation experts now advocate a different approach, changing the emphasis from increasing supply to reducing demand. To reinforce smart growth policies, plug mounting transportation funding gaps and achieve immediate traffic relief, London, Stockholm, Singapore, Milan and three cities in Norway have... National League of Cities http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292721/posts#comment Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:11:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2291851/posts Sara was late for work. The alarm clock didn't alarm, the kids were unusually slow getting ready for school, and nothing went right. She finally got to her car -- a brand new 2020 Chevy Adventure. She touched the finger-print secured start button. Nothing. It wouldn't start. She touched it again. Nothing. Furious, she banged the steering wheel with her fist. Then she noticed the paper hanging from the receipt printer on the dash. "Your designated visa account rejected your Road Use Tax in the amount of $87.32 for the month of June, 2020. You must insert a valid account... GOPUSA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2291851/posts#comment Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283215/posts The year is 2020 and the gasoline tax is history. In its place you get a monthly tax bill based on each mile you drove — tracked by a Global Positioning System device in your car and uploaded to a billing center. What once was science fiction is being field-tested by the University of Iowa to iron out the wrinkles should a by-the-mile road tax ever be enacted. Besides the technological advances making such a tax possible, the idea is getting a hard push from a growing number of transportation experts and officials. kansascity.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283215/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:40:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279417/posts California cities will sue the state if its new fiscal budget includes "stealing" local gas tax funds, leaders for the League of California Cities warned today. "Our intention is to be prepared to file a lawsuit the day after the budget is signed," Chris McKenzie, the league's executive director, said at a news conference in the Sacramento Convention Center. "The (state) Constitution and statutes have never authorized the state to steal gas tax funds." Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279417/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:58:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2266067/posts Another pseudo-brilliant idea floating around these days is the concept of a gas tax, and Thomas flat-earth Friedman is just the guy to spread it. And Diane Sawyer is just the person to lap it up. Right-wingers can't be expected to be this brilliant, and people like Sawyer and Friedman have to explain it to us... But sometimes even left wingers resist the idea of a gas tax, as is evidenced by Sawyer's conversation with Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. Sawyer asked six different times in various ways whether the administration will implement a... Annuit Coeptis http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2266067/posts#comment Sat, 6 Jun 2009 10:38:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264770/posts The federal kitty used to fix and build highways runs dry in August. It will be the second time in two years that the Highway Trust Fund, which was started in 1956 to build the Interstate system, hasn't collected enough gas-tax revenues to pay for critical needs in transport. The reasons for the money shortfall are simple: With Americans driving less in a recession and also buying more-fuel-efficient vehicles, revenues from the gas tax are down. And it doesn't help that the federal fee of 18.4 cents per gallon hasn't been raised since 1993, despite inflation and more transport projects.... Christian Science Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264770/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 17:41:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2262662/posts Filmmaker and leftist activist Michael Moore said the demise of General Motors filled him with ‘joy’ Monday and then suggested the Obama administration launch into a massive socialization of U.S. industry to build ‘green’ autos and bullet trains. To pay for it all, he suggests a $2 per gallon federal tax. Writing on The Daily Beast Web site, Moore said he was writing from Flint, Michigan, GM’s birthplace, which he described as abandoned and emptied by the company’s incompetence and eagerness for cheap labor. “Who among us wants $50 billion of our tax dollars thrown down the rat hole of... NewsMax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2262662/posts#comment Tue, 2 Jun 2009 04:03:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255469/posts The Waxman-Markey bill is making just about every segment of the oil and natural-gas industry unhappy. Oil refiners would be hit, because they would likely be among the largest buyers of emissions allowances. In addition to covering their own emissions, the refineries that turn crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other fuels will be responsible for the carbon emissions from transportation. That puts the industry on the hook for some 44% of U.S. carbon emissions, according to the American Petroleum Institute, but it would receive just 2% of the emissions allowances available under the bill. Refiners would have to buy... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255469/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 14:39:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254055/posts "Good Morning America" co-host Diane Sawyer on Tuesday aggressively lobbied for the Obama administration to install a European-style gas tax on the United States. Talking to Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, about Obama's plans for increased fuel standards, she began, "Why not just go to a gas tax, for instance, which would accomplish a reduction in the use of gasoline, dependence on foreign oil right away?" Sawyer would proceed to ask variations on this question six times. Citing calls for a gas tax by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, Newsbusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2254055/posts#comment Tue, 19 May 2009 17:43:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2212229/posts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the federal government has to look at raising the gasoline tax to pay for public works improvements if the public supports paying for them, according to a "Meet the Press" interview that aired Sunday. The Republican governor appeared on the NBC show with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell to advocate for more federal public works spending as part of a coalition they formed last year. The interview was taped Friday. Host David Gregory asked Schwarzenegger whether an increase in the federal 18.4-cent per gallon gasoline tax is an appropriate way... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2212229/posts#comment Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:45:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199345/posts Conversion Would Make Per-Gallon Gasoline Tax To Tax On Wholesale Price Of Gas Noting that state roads are "the pits," Gov. Jennifer Granholm says she supports changing the state gasoline tax to raise more money as gas prices rise. Granholm told reporters Wednesday that the state's current 19-cent-per-gallon tax doesn't raise enough money to repair Michigan's aging roads. The Transportation Funding Task Force she appointed last year has suggested converting the per-gallon gasoline tax to a tax on the wholesale price of gas and raising vehicle registration fees. Granholm says she supports both. Clickondetroit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199345/posts#comment Wed, 4 Mar 2009 22:45:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2194874/posts A commission established by Congress to study options for funding the nation’s roads and bridges on Thursday recommended raising the federal gas tax by 10 cents a gallon. In a report, the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission cited a “crisis” of neglect for infrastructure, and also called for an eventual switch to a tax based on miles driven, rather than gasoline consumed. Raising the federal gas tax, now 18.4 cents a gallon, is so politically tricky that the idea has gone nowhere in 16 years. The tax is the main source of federal dollars for fixing roads and bridges.... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2194874/posts#comment Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:04:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2191456/posts The United States is in a recession with millions of Americans struggling with being out of work, and now a dozen states across the country are proposing tax increases. They are considering an idea to raise the gas tax. One governor interested in this idea is Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, who wants to raise the state's gas tax by 19 cents, bringing it from 23 cents a gallon to nearly 43 cents a gallon. It would become the highest gas tax in the nation. Patrick isn't the only governor considering it. Lawmakers in New Hampshire, Illinois, Oregon and Ohio are... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2191456/posts#comment Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:08:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2189997/posts WASHINGTON (AP) — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed. Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually... Newsday.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2189997/posts#comment Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:45:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2181898/posts Patrick weighs 27 cent gas tax hike BOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick is considering asking the Legislature to raise the Massachusetts gasoline tax by 27 cents per gallon as part of a comprehensive package aimed at solving lingering state transportation problems, The Associated Press learned Monday. Such an increase would stave off a doubling of Massachusetts Turnpike tolls planned for this spring, and finance a wholesale change in the way state runs its transporation system, but leave it with the highest gasoline tax in the nation at 50.5 cents. And the plan calls for increasing that tax annually, based on... WHDH http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2181898/posts#comment Mon, 9 Feb 2009 23:21:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2176769/posts Gas prices were too high and we weren't green enough. Fine, buy an electric car or gas saving car and all is fine. Right? Wrong. The Oregon Governor thinks gas taxes are going away. His answer? Tax the miles you drive. Tax the miles you drive with GPS technology. Think they are kidding? They're not. Associated Content http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2176769/posts#comment Mon, 2 Feb 2009 17:41:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2164954/posts DETROIT - Deep inside the research centers of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, the companies are spending billions to develop plug-in electric cars at a time when gasoline has dropped below $2 per gallon. If their fears come true, gas prices will be so low when they start rolling out the cars next year that people won’t buy them and all the high-priced research will have gone to waste. At GM and Chrysler, which have nearly run out of cash and are surviving on government loans, the companies can’t afford to make mistakes in spending limited... MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2164954/posts#comment Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:13:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163467/posts Two years ago, lawmakers went to war with Gov. Rick Perry over his push to privatize Texas toll roads, but their efforts to stop the idea largely failed. As they return Tuesday to launch the 2009 legislative session, lawmakers will be faced with a choice of either raising taxes – which both Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have called a bad idea – or giving private companies a greater role in paying for, and operating, a fast-expanding network of toll roads. The two-year moratorium on private road deals that passed in 2007 slowed but didn't kill Perry's plan to... WFAA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2163467/posts#comment Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:28:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2160309/posts Billions of dollars collected from motorists from gasoline taxes, tolls, and registration fees are being diverted by state and local governments into uses that have nothing to do with roads and highways. According to the latest figures from the Federal Highway Administration, motorists gave state and local government $40.3 billion in 2005 for the ability to drive and own a vehicle. Gasoline taxes accounted for $20.5 billion in revenue while registration fees and miscellaneous taxes generated $13.5 billion. State and local toll roads also collected $6.4 billion from motorists. After accounting for administration and overhead, $28.5 billion remained for all... The Newspaper http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2160309/posts#comment Wed, 7 Jan 2009 17:04:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2157651/posts We listen to these clowns and save gas - hybrids, better MPG ratings, even air in our tires. Now they aren't getting enough money out of the gas tax, so they're going to increase it. Can't win. Patriot Room http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2157651/posts#comment Fri, 2 Jan 2009 16:44:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2157191/posts WASHINGTON — A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by a federal commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads. bostonherald.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2157191/posts#comment Thu, 1 Jan 2009 15:57:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2156338/posts Three times in the last five years Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Charles Krauthammer has lauded the idea of raising the tax on gasoline as a way of suppressing consumption, thus - according to the theory - lowering global gas prices and reducing dependency on foreign oil. His latest construct of an idea he is obviously smitten with, published this past weekend in The Weekly Standard, calls for this new gas tax hike to be "offset" with a cut in the FICA tax, creating a "net-zero" effect.So goes the hypothesis.He breaks down the numbers this way ...The average American purchases 14... Roman Around http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2156338/posts#comment Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:25:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2155839/posts The Texas Legislature is coming back Jan. 13, and change may be in the air. The Sunset Advisory Commission, by a narrow margin, recently voted to abolish the five-member commission that oversees the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoOT), and replace it with a single commissioner. This is but the latest in the continuing evolution of Texas state government. When legislators think an agency isn’t working right, the urges generally are to change the agency’s personnel; to change the agency’s structure; to combine it with some other agency; to investigate it; or to abolish it. Such it is with TxDOT. In... The Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2155839/posts#comment Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:04:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2154928/posts True colors are showing through all over town. Earlier this month, the Washington Post urged a tripling of the gas tax, taking away the "windfall" to consumers of the sudden plunge in prices at the pump since the summer. Their stated purpose: permanently deprive people of their freedom and ability to buy the products they want. Yesterday, the (soon to be bankrupt) New York Times, jumped on the same bandwagon. Yet for all the conditions attached to it, the multibillion-dollar aid package for Detroit’s carmakers approved by the White House (with Mr. Obama’s support) fails to address one crucial question:... The Patriot Room http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2154928/posts#comment Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:46:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2154927/posts <p>Americans have a deep and understandable aversion to gasoline taxes. In a culture more single-mindedly devoted to individual freedom than any other, tampering with access to the open road is met with visceral opposition. That's why earnest efforts to alter American driving habits take the form of regulation of the auto companies--the better to hide the hand of government and protect politicians from the inevitable popular backlash.</p> Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2154927/posts#comment Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:45:01 GMT