Friday, January 9, 2015

The Bastards Want To Raise Gas Taxes

It's always squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Never give consumers a break. Soaring oil production is pushing (temporarily) gas prices lower and the government wants to grab a cut of that decline by raising gasoline taxes---which won't be reversed once gasoline prices climb again.

Josh Mitchel, WSJ reporter, writes:
The sharp drop in gasoline prices over the past few months is providing a rare political opening for state and federal officials who want to raise gasoline taxes to repair highways and boost construction jobs.

In Iowa, Republican Gov. Terry Branstad is gauging lawmakers’ support for the first state gas-tax increase since 1989, among other options to raise transportation funds. In Michigan, the GOP-controlled legislature approved a plan last month for a ballot initiative to boost the gas tax for road repairs. In Utah, Republican leaders in the state House signaled this week they are moving to raise the gas tax to cover a transportation-funding shortfall.

In the nation’s capital, several top Senate Republicans—supported by some Democrats—are signaling an openness to raising the federal levy from the 18.4 cents a gallon it’s been at since 1993. The backers include business groups and corporate leaders who want to see infrastructure improvements and jobs-minded unions....

Republicans in some states have couched proposals to raise state gas taxes as “user fees.” In Iowa, Mr. Branstad has asked his transportation director to propose options to raise road funds, including increases in the gas tax and vehicle registration fees. Mr. Branstad met with legislative leaders Wednesday to gauge support for the measures, his spokesman said.

“The timing is right [to raise taxes] in light of the fact that fuel prices have dropped significantly,” Mr. Branstad said at a press conference in December...

Two other Republican governors—New Jersey’s Chris Christie and South Dakota’s Dennis Daugaard —have been coy about whether they’d support gas-tax increases being debated by their state legislatures, though they haven’t ruled them out....

“I don’t think there’s a person around that doesn’t realize if we’re going to do it, now is the time to do it,” Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) said of raising the federal gas tax, a move he supports. He has pointed to the 40% drop in gasoline prices since summer as he tries to win colleagues’ support for raising the levy....

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce business group has supported raising the gas tax to boost infrastructure, which they say would create jobs and improve productivity by speeding the flow of goods and services on the nation’s highways and railways. The AFL-CIO union federation has also supported higher gas levies.

President Barack Obama —who repeatedly criticized calls for a gas-tax increase during his first term—suggested he was open to one at a recent White House event....

“The politics of this issue get easier when gas prices are lower and the economy is growing,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), who supports an increase.

4 comments:

  1. I live in Utah. Not only is the legislature rumored to be talking about raising the gas tax (they have not convened for their 2015 session yet), but they're talking about pegging the gas tax to inflation.

    Simply put: The gas tax will go up automatically year after year after year.

    Oh, and Utah likewise has a Republican governor and a HEAVILY Republican legislature.

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  2. Of course, all those suckers and dupes who voted for Repulsivecans in the last election thought they were voting for a taxpayer friendly party. CHUMPS!!!

    There isn't even two degrees of separation between the Warfare Party and the Welfare Party and this article only underscores that point.

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    1. Can't speak for anyone else here, but the ONLY reason I voted the last go around was to vote against the so-called RAMP (Recreation, Arts, Museums, Parks) tax. Otherwise, I simply wrote in BS names or things like "don't care" just to screw with their precious system.

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  3. The left wing transit groups are licking their lips to raise taxes on motorists to pay for transit.

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