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Raising the Gas Tax

2/27/2009, 10:52 am
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Glorious news, Comrades!

WASHINGTON -- Raise federal gasoline taxes to help pay for road projects?

Not during a recession, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said.

Then how about moving toward a system that finances highway construction by charging motorists by the mile?

When LaHood suggested last week that be considered among otherpotential financing schemes, he got bushwhacked by the White House. "Itis not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration," thepresident's press secretary said.

With the administration's position seemingly clear, a specialcommission created by Congress is nonetheless endorsing those two ideas.

Its report Thursday warns that if government fails to find a new way toraise money, "we will suffer grim consequences in the future:unimaginable levels of congestion, reduced safety, costlier goods andservices, an eroded quality of life, and diminished economiccompetitiveness as a nation."

The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commissionsays the current 18.4 cents a gallon gas tax and 24.4 cents a gallondiesel tax are not raising enough money to keep pace with the cost ofhighway, bridge and transit projects. The commission proposes liftingthe gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon and the diesel tax by 15 centsper gallon, and adjusting both for inflation.

The report also says fuel taxes increasingly will become a lessreliable way to pay for highway construction as people drive more fuelefficient vehicles and the number of electric and alternative fuel carsand trucks grows.

Last fall, Congress transferred $8 billion from the general treasury tothe highway trust fund to make up for a shortfall between revenue andmoney promised to states for highway projects.

Last week, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press that avehicle-miles-traveled tax was an idea that should be considered toshore up the trust fund.

The report recommends moving to such a tax, which would meanequipping cars and trucks with a device that uses GPS technology totrack the number of miles driven and compute the tax owed. The amountcould be adjusted to charge more for travel during peak traffic hours.

Commission members said the transition to a national system would take about 10 years.

The concept was tried in a pilot program in Oregon. Idaho's governor istalking about it. A North Carolina panel suggested in December thestate start charging motorists a quarter-cent for every mile as asubstitute for the gas tax.

A tentative plan in Massachusetts has drawn complaints from drivers whosay it's an Orwellian intrusion by government into the lives ofcitizens. Other motorists say it eliminates an incentive to drive morefuel-efficient cars because gas guzzlers will be taxed at the same rateas fuel sippers.
Advocates said the tax is environmentally friendly because itencourages motorists to drive less and that technology solutions areavailable for any privacy concerns.

Commission member Geoffrey Yarema, a Los Angeles transportation lawyer,said the commission examined more than 40 types of funding schemesbefore arriving at a consensus that a mileage-based system makes themost sense.

"If someone else can come up with a solution that achieves the goals weall know need to be achieved and is more politically acceptable, that'sgreat. But we haven't seen that alternative and we tried hard to findit," Yarema said.

Yarema said he isn't discouraged by the White House's rejection of a mileage-based tax.

"I say let's wait and see," Yarema said. "We're all looking forsolutions and I'm sure the Obama administration will be looking forsolutions as well."

Is it not wonderful? Soon the Party will know everywhere you drive and charge you for it! We'll also squeeze the life out of those bourgeois Big Oil executives with repressive taxes.!

As Comrade Lenin said:

"The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation."

This new USSA is just getting better and better.
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