A brief summary of the current sorry state of affairs for those who aren't aware can be found in this Washington Post Editorial.
The obvious and logical solution to the problem is to raise the gasoline tax, which hasn't been raised in 2 decades despite inflation. The tax is a tax per gallon, so it is not indexed to inflation and raises less money in real terms every year as a result.
I think Republicans are mostly to blame here, but Democrats have also been shy about raising taxes, even if in reality it is just to account for inflation.
The last time the tax was raised was in 1993. You need $1.65 in 2014 to equal the value of $1 in 1993 (or conversely 60 cents in 1993 was worth a dollar today).
If you want to account for electric cars or other alternative fuel vehicles you could add a mileage tax, but that makes the system more complicated and the vast majority of vehicles still use gasoline or diesel.
This is just basic housekeeping. It shouldn't be ideological. Roads and bridges need to be maintained, and we need to pay for it, so just do it. The Grover Norquist pledge to never, ever raise taxes for any reason whatsoever is part of the problem. In real terms, these taxes have fallen every year due to inflation and raising them to account for that isn't a true tax raise, nor should it be considered one by ideologues.
:mad:
The obvious and logical solution to the problem is to raise the gasoline tax, which hasn't been raised in 2 decades despite inflation. The tax is a tax per gallon, so it is not indexed to inflation and raises less money in real terms every year as a result.
I think Republicans are mostly to blame here, but Democrats have also been shy about raising taxes, even if in reality it is just to account for inflation.
The last time the tax was raised was in 1993. You need $1.65 in 2014 to equal the value of $1 in 1993 (or conversely 60 cents in 1993 was worth a dollar today).
If you want to account for electric cars or other alternative fuel vehicles you could add a mileage tax, but that makes the system more complicated and the vast majority of vehicles still use gasoline or diesel.
This is just basic housekeeping. It shouldn't be ideological. Roads and bridges need to be maintained, and we need to pay for it, so just do it. The Grover Norquist pledge to never, ever raise taxes for any reason whatsoever is part of the problem. In real terms, these taxes have fallen every year due to inflation and raising them to account for that isn't a true tax raise, nor should it be considered one by ideologues.
:mad:
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