2 US Senators Propose 12-Cent Gas Tax Increase

An anonymous reader writes There are several proposals on the table to stave off the impending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (which pays for transit, biking, and walking projects too) in two months. Just now, two senators teamed up to announce one that might actually have a chance. Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have proposed increasing the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon over two years. The federal gas tax currently stands at 18.4 cents a gallon, where it has been set since 1993, when gas cost $1.16 a gallon.

Fuck. That.

[CanHasDIY]

Defund the NSA, we'll have all the money we need for roads and infrastructure. And then some.

Re:Good!

[Dishevel]

Yes. Gas is too cheap so the government must artificially raise the price.

Umm. Fuck you.

We have set aside funds for infrastructure. 18.4 cents of every single gallon of gas sold in the US! Where does that money actually go?

Well over 25% of gas tax funds go to side walks and bike trails and shit like that. How about we start with this.

States have gas taxes as well. In California I have to pay 71 cents/gal in gas taxes. Then because that is not enough sales tax on gas is calculated after the fuel tax so we get to pay sales taxes on or fuel tax.

What do we get for this. Shit ass roads that ruin our cars. Then we have fees at the DMV.

Money grabs are money grabs. They never make our lives better.

Re:Good!

[theNetImp]

Other countries also have much better public transportation. Which the US lacks unless you're in a major city.

Re:Good!

[viperidaenz]

I live in New Zealand, we apparently just posted one of the highest GDP increases in the world this year. 3.1% over the last year
Our petrol costs $NZ2.20/L. It's been over $2 for years now.
Tax is nearly 90c per litre.

So what goes GDP have to do with petrol taxes again?

Re:Good!

[David_Hart]

Good!

a. Gas is much too cheap in the US.
b. We need a lot of infrastructure work.

Of course, I'm sure we could afford to pave all of our roads with gold, have diamond-studded bike lanes, and solid titanium sidewalks if we didn't spend half our budget on wars, but hey, I'm not holding my breath. There's not as much room for corruption in building roads in this country as there is building roads in some 3rd world country that we bombed into oblivion.

Personally, I would love detailed breakdown of where the current gas taxes goes. I'm willing to bet that a good portion of it goes to other programs, pet projects, and expenditures that have nothing to do with highway, bridges, transit, bike, or walking path infrastructure. In other words, I'm pretty sure that there is enough money coming in from gas taxes today. I'm also willing to bet that the Highway Trust Fund would not see the full amount of any tax hike....

This is just another way to get people to pay more taxes.

Re:Index it to inflation

[xaxa]

how about a bike and feet tax instead, they should pay their side of things...

Places for people to cycle and walk are so incredibly cheap compared to roads (and railways) that is really isn't worth bothering with a special tax to fund them.

I can't find the Dutch document I read recently, which said the highest quality cycle+pedestrian paths at the side of a new road added less than 10% to the cost.

Re:Good!

[Copid]

Doesn't matter which country we buy it from specifically. Oil is a global market and disruptions in part of the supply jack up prices everywhere. I'm open to the idea that our poking a stick in the Middle East may not be generating much net stability, but on the assumption that it does, the primary reason we care about what goes on there enough to spend mony on it is that they're a big chunk of the world's oil supply.

Re:Why not?

[jandersen]

A few quick calculations, for comparison:

In UK, 1 litre of petrol (gasoline) costs about 1.2 GBP. 1 US gallon = 3.7 litres, so that works out as 7.57 USD per gallon. The OP doesn't actually say what you guys pay, but I get the impression that it is less by a wide margin. The US is also, I believe, the largest economy on the planet, and you spend more energy, per capita, than any other nation in the world. Perhaps you should tighten up a bit on the way you waste energy - I assume it must wasted, because it doesn't look like all that extra energy results in higher, actual production.

I'm sorry I haven't got loads of sympathy, but it does look like a luxury problem to me. Find a way to change the situation - fix the inequalities in your society, so the poorest don't have to struggle in hopeless poverty in order to feed the indulgencies of the rich.