Posted on 02/04/2018 5:26:14 AM PST by Nextrush
A very business as usual Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania, Bill Shuster, announced his retirement recently. Shuster and his father (Congressman Bud Shuster) 'milked the system' with great success, focused on transportation matters like building new roads.
Bill Shuster chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Bill Shuster's involvement with lobbyists is the stuff of legend, his marriage suddenly ending in December of 2015 and Shuster revealing he was dating a female lobbyist for the airline industry.
That may have something to do with the decisions by Shuster and dozens of other Republicans to call it quits. Some of the 40 plus members are actually running for other political offices.
But maybe there's another reason for their decision to call it quits like a scheme to raised taxes to help big business as the expense of the little people. A tax increase that would doom them politically.
The US Chamber of Commerce (the "Cheap Labor Express") has called for a 25 cent a gallon gas tax hike to fund "infrastucture".
At the Republican Congressional "retreat" on Thursday, Bill Shuster called for a 15 cent a gallon gas tax hike to raise billions of dollars to fund "infrastructure" projects proposed by President Trump. He was interviewed by Bloomberg TV.
He rationalizes the whole thing down to its like "a cup of coffee a week....or its two bottles of water".
Big government in Washington DC keeps getting bigger (in 2017 Washington DC was designated the sixth largest media market in the USA by Nielsen, moving up from seventh).
There's no sign anyone is serious about cutting the spending of the federal government or its size.
They are trimming or modifying regulations and controls, but that's a drop in the bucket in comparison to what really needs to be done.
The timing on such a tax increase is a wonder. Can it be rigged before the election this fall with Republicans and Democrats joining forces to support it, allowing members who want to portray themselves as "Conservative" to vote against it while it passes?
Or would it be better to do it in a lame duck session during the holiday season this November and December the election behind for Republicans safely re-elected, the retiring Republicans without a care in the world and looking forward to being taken care of by special interests in their retirement.
I'll opt for the latter.
THE GAS TAX INCREASE IS COMING, THE GAS TAX INCREASE IS COMING
Like my father who like myself voted for Donald Trump said, the taxes to pay for the 'infrastructure' should have come from the big people, not the little ones.
Any gas tax hike will be a stain on anyone who plays a role in its enactment.
Wow. What a hit on rural PA. Here in The Big Empty it will be the death knell to small towns. At this time the food deserts are little talked about but...having to go 20 miles to get groceries is already hard and having to go 40 miles for a decent job is really, really hard, but having to go 90 miles for really good medical care is almost impossible now. Shuster has always been on the shady side. We have known this but why should anyone else run? Really.
Murtha was no prize either.
Whiskey Rebellers Unite!
Fortunately, he’s retiring this year. Whether that district can actually get someone better is the question.
Part of a liberal scheme to drive everyone out of rural areas and into cities were they can be controlled. The political elite would then more to their new estates (measured in square miles) in the now vacant country side. From there thew would be able to dictate life in the city - from which no one could leave without special passes, and leaving, travel in trains from their city to some other city.
Assuming that the gas tax increase is for HIGHWAYS (as in freeways), not sound walls, bike trails, or Philidephia’s transit system, I’m cool with it. Our family burns, maybe 1000 gallons of gas a year - so the 15 cents being talked about would be $150 per year. Trump’s tax cut gave me 12 times that amount.
But, unfortunately, that’s not what TRUMP is talking about, it’s what Shuster is talking about. Trump’s people want to sell off our Interstates to foreign companies so that they can use their monopolies to toll the hell out of us (we’re already seeing over $1.00 per mile in some situations) - unfortunately Trump’s tax cut doesn’t come close to covering that for people forced to pay those tolls.
Now, of course, they won’t say they’re doing the above, they’ll just lift all the tolling restrictions and let the states do as they wish - which will, again, result in the highways being sold to foreign interests for a relatively small pot of cash in exchange for unrestricted tolling (exactly what happened to the Indian Turnpike, under Mitch Daniels).
So - I’m with Shuster here, providing the money is used for highways. Trump, in this case, can go to hell if he wants to let foreign entities stick toll booths on our Interstates - they are JUST FINE being FREE, in most cases.
Mr. Shuster and his father have represented a big chunk of rural Pennsylvania for years. What a shame for Shuster to do this to the people he’s represented.
There all crooks..there politicians...maybe ten percent trying to do the right thing
Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends Hardcover – March 20, 2018
Or Bill and Bud Shyster as many locals refer to them....
The religious conservative “Tea Party” retired Coast Guard officer Art Halvorson is back in the race, but the Dem controlled court ordered a redraw of districts and the GOPe in Harrisburg will mess with things to hurt Halvorson, I’m certain.
They want the rural areas as a playground and they want to drive the ranchers like Cliven Bundy out.
SCOTUS should shoot down that illegitimate and corrupt PA Supremes fiat on redistricting. I hope Halvorson can take it this time.
Not just ranchers, but every one not now living in some large city, everyone.
Pretty much agree - other than Trump.
As it is, we will ALWAYS require a government, and the government will ALWAYS have to do some things regardless of how much we may wish there was another way. One is the military (of course), but another is developing and controlling right-of-ways for highways and other uses (like power lines and trains)...and these right-of-ways, in many cases, particularly highways, are essentially monopolies - whoever owns I-80 in Pennsylvania will make a TON of money off truckers (and cars) if they can toll it at ‘market rates’, which are probably at least $1.00 per mile for trucks and 40 cents for cars.
The question is whether we want our government to give this away to foreign entities - or should we retain control and freedom to travel without tolling, particularly monopoly-rate tolling? My vote is for freedom to travel - even if it does cost me 8% of Trump’s tax cut.
Mission Accomplished. What is needed now is maintenance and short connectors for the existing system. Maintenance and short connectors are best done by the states and not by the central planners in the Beltway ... not by the lobbyist friends and girlfriends of the Establishment Congressmen.
Abolish all Federal energy,transportation and utility taxes with a 5 year transition period. Tell the tax collectors, mostly the energy companies, to pay the taxes collected directly to the state in which collected. The states would have 5 years to replace the Federal taxes with state taxes (or not).
The states are much better qualified to move quickly to do the shovel ready projects. And, of course, eliminate most of the Dept of Transportation. Maybe keep a couple Safety agencies and pay for them out of general revenue funds.
Drain the transportation swamp.
Infrastructure projects also include seaports. Georgia hopes for big money for the Savannah seaport, which is one of the biggest in the USA and essential for bringing in all the offshore manufactured crap.
But Georgia politicians, both R and D, boast that the infrastructure project will pay for itself in increased economic growth to Georgia. So if the bi-partisan politicians are telling the truth, then Georgia has the ability to do the Savannah seaport project without any Federal money. Indeed, with solely Georgia in control of the project, the project will clearly be better managed and be far more successful.
Georgia should not want the Feds in this project.
No issue there, and typically those projects are not run by the feds.
Airports, for example, get some federal money (mostly for runways), but the VAST MAJORITY of their money comes from airlines and those damn PFCs.
If you are going to put a highway through a residential area, sound walls, good landscaping and a sidewalk should be automatic parts of the deal, along with frequent crossings so that people can get around their own neighborhoods easily. If we build sidewalks, build them wide enough for bikes and pedestrians to share. Problem solved.
If you are building roads in rural areas, build wide shoulders. If you are widening existing roads and turning them from rural byways into commuter expressways, some accommodation for existing non-automotive users (cyclists, joggers, walkers, farmers moving equipment) is appropriate. Depending on the area, an off-road trail may be the best option. The point is, if an all-users rural road is being pre-empted for commuters, other existing users should be protected.
And by the way: no taking of people's tree plats for additional traffic lanes. No eliminating on-street parking in residential neighborhoods or in neighborhood shopping strips. No sacrificing of urban parks or other open space/green space for commuter roads. If such impacts are unavoidable, then reasonable mitigation projects are appropriate as compensation for affected neighborhoods.
If you are not willing to do these things, don't build roads through residential areas. If commuters don't like their two hour commutes, they can live closer to their jobs. They don't have the right to ruin other people's neighborhoods to shave a few minutes off their daily grind.
I don’t have a problem with fuel taxes or tolls if the money only goes to the roads being used. Property taxes also go to help a majority of roads.
The money must be tied to what it is meant to cover. If the roads cost a lot, then a lot of money must be gathered.
If you use a road, or anything else that is a public good, then yes, you must pay toward that.
This is one reason people shop locally—to reduce time and cost.
It is simple economics.
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