Roanoke Times: "Time to Raise the Gas Tax"
By: Lowell
Published On: 5/25/2007 8:15:33 AM
This morning, the Roanoke Times argues that, "[t]o avoid certain shortfalls in transportation funding, the gas tax must be increased." Among other things, the Times points out that Virginia "has not changed its gas tax in 20 years." In addition, the Federal Highway Trust Fund is "dwindling" and Virginia is now facing "a $300 million state revenue shortfall." That's very unfortunate (although not at all surprising), given that "[a]n expected surplus was supposed to help fill the transportation trust fund in Virginia."
For all those reasons, I agree with the Roanoke Times that a "gas-tax hike at both the state and federal levels, however unpopular, needs to be seriously considered" at this time.
Comments
The funny thing about (Eric - 5/25/2007 10:42:38 AM)
raising the gasoline tax is that prices have gone through the roof and people are still pumping and paying. All the people screaming that the increase in the gasoline tax would cause economic ruin couldn't be more wrong. Prices are up more than a dollar from just a short while back and theres no sign of collapse. Hell, we're not even driving less.
Which is why we need to put in that tax now. With prices on the rise anyway an extra dime or two tax would go mostly unnoticed. Then when prices drop (assuming they will) everyone will be happy at low prices and hardly any thought would be given to the extra tax.
Exactly, and all the money would be staying (Lowell - 5/25/2007 2:31:35 PM)
in the USA, not going to OPEC, to radical Madrasas, and even to terrorists around the world. Imagine if we had slapped a $1 per gallon tax on gasoline when it was 90 cents per gallon a few years ago? Well gee, gasoline would have been $1.90 per gallon, far less than the $3.25 or whatever it is now. Hell, even a $2 per gallon tax back then would STILL have resulted in a price lower than what we're paying now to our friends in ExxonMobil and the Saudi Royal Family. Brilliant national energy policy! (snark)
Oh yeah, and of course (Lowell - 5/25/2007 2:33:06 PM)
we could have taken that money, or part of it, and given it back to people in the form of tax credits for purchase of energy efficient vehicles, buildings, capital equipment, etc. We could have invested it in energy efficiency and renewable energy technology. If we had done this back in the 1990s, we'd be well on our way to getting off our "oil addiction" now, and OPEC would be screwed (you think Iran could afford a nuke program if oil prices were $10 per barrel?!? Ha!).