"Hey, gas prices are down and the roads need fix'en. Let's Raise the Gas Tax." Ahh... Let's NOT!
Before we move on, let's look at some assumptions that most people make about fuel taxes and infrastructure spending.
1) The roads, bridges and other infrastructure are in horrific condition and need a Lot of repair.
2) The Federal Government doesn't get anywhere near what it needs to spend on those repairs.
3) All monies collected via fuel taxes are available for road and infrastructure maintenance.
Let's get away from assumptions and get into the facts.
The gas tax--plus a 24.4 cent tax on diesel and other excises--finances something called the Highway Trust Fund, or HTF. |
But since the 1990s, the Highway Trust Fund has come to fund much more than new roads and bridges and highway maintenance, abandoning the original "user pays" principle behind a gas tax. Drivers now see about a quarter of their gas taxes diverted to subsidize mass transit in merely six metro areas and sundry other programs for street cars, ferries, sidewalks, bike lanes, hiking trails, urban planning and even landscaping nationwide. Trolley riders, et al., contribute nothing to the HTF. |
Federal spending on such side projects has increased 38% since 2008, while highway spending is flat. Here's what the politicians won't say: Simply using the taxes that are supposed to pay for highways to, well, pay for highways makes the HTF 98% solvent for the next decade, no tax increase necessary. |
Another myth is that U.S. roads and bridges are "crumbling," to use the invariable media description. ... The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank noted in a 2009 paper that roads have "indisputably" improved over the last two decades and that "the surface of the median interstate highway mile is suitable for superhighway speeds not typically permitted in the United States." |
Democrats always want to raise the gas tax. When prices are high, that's the best time to encourage drivers to buy an electric car or take the bus. When prices are low, they can skim some of the proceeds for other spending. The mystery is why Republicans would go along. |
Abolish the Gas Tax - WSJ
Raise the gas tax?! No!
Demand better mamanegment of the existing gas tax revenues? YES!
Joe Mobley
Sal
When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
Beyond the Path