Raise gas tax by 15 cents/gallon?

[odie]

Since the economy is picking up that gives a good reason to bring up the oil prices . CHINA's thirst goes upward with the help of U.S. corporations in CHINA ( car , electronics , etc. ) from their demand and our surging economy (

) . Well if there's a gain in the business world , it sure won't last long with higher gas and heating bills . Why not stop giving big oil tax breaks . Supposedly there's oil tankers full of crude sitting in coastal waters . Wonder what purpose that has ?

. Last , there's also an issue with gas production , not sure which refinery(ies) .

 

[odie]

Originally Posted By: Torino
Just raid the Congressional retirement, benefits and expense funds. There is PLENTY of plata there. John--Las Vegas.
+1 . Local part time politicians get full health coverage for self and the family . Think of all the money going towards those in office ( local > D.C. ) and out with health coverage . So why should they worry about the cost of health insurance or the gov't health care for all .

 

[motorguy222]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: motorguy222
This will hit many people hard.In my area,it is normal for people to drive 40-60 miles one way to work.That is 80-120 miles a day,that is 400-600 miles a week.That is just back and forth to work.

That is a big chunk of their wages for gas.If you add another 15 cents to gas that is almost $3.00 a gallon now,that is even a bigger chunk out of their already tight budget.

A small car helps but when gas gets as high as it is,then you add another 15 cents per gallon,that is less money in the economy.That is less money for food,shelter,gas and other needs.

It costs American consumers $4 million a day for every penny at the gas pump.If you take $4 million a day out of the economy that is going to gas,that is a huge amount of money that is really being taken out of the economy.

That $4 million could be spent on basic needs and some extras that really move the economy.That is $4 million less to the small business.That is $4 million taken from the local services in your area.



HUH????!? Sounds like an entitlement attitude from someone who thinks they deserve to use the roads and deserve to live 40-60 miles away, yet dont want to pay for their induced wear. Do you deserve also for the government to buy you tires because their roads wore your tires down?

Its not like that $4 million is going as aid to the Israelis or some other bogus handout. As long as it is meeting its purpose, it is going to maintain roads that enable efficient commerce, and since the major cost component of most anything is labor, it is going to pay the salaries of the people doing the work to rebuild the roads and related infrastructure, who then go to buy things in the local economy. If they go to wal-mart instead and send their money to China, that is another story, but it is irrelevant to the fact that maintaining the roads that the commuters use because they induce wear and nature degrades them is a necessity if they want to make that 60 mile commute at all.


No,it isnt an "entitlement attitude".It is someone that sees the difficult times that many have that try to make a living.It seems that not everyone is well off as you must be.

If you read my post again,you will see that this is $4 million a day.Just what is the government wanting to do with this money?As has already been stated,they need to spend the money they take in more wisely.

There are many areas that people make less than you evidently do and they have to drive several miles to work.They are hard working and good people.

While you may have a good job today,you could lose that job next week and have to drive several miles to work making less money.You then might see what many people see,the real world.

I lean toward the idea that the state take care of its own money and use it for state roads.The federal can take care of the national highways but if most states are like mine,the vast majority of the roads are state and county.

It isnt fair for my state to send millions of dollars to California or some other state to fix their roads when that money would fix many if not all of the roads here.

 

[mikiee]

The answer is to not gouge the American taxpayer for more money. The solution is to reign in the billions, no, make that trillions that we are sending over to Iraq and Afghanistan to improve their infrastructure. How about spending our tax dollars on us, instead of chasing after this bogus war on terrorism. Are there terrorist in this world? Of course.......always has been. The real terrorist threat to our freedoms in this country are our own politicians. I laugh every time people talk about raising taxes to pay for this or that. We have enough revenue in this country. It just needs to be reallocated properly. If people only realized the extent of the waste that goes on in Washington. If you only knew!!!

 

[SZR48207]

Winston Churchill : A nation trying to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to pull himself up by the handles.

 

[odie]

Many didn't learn from the gas crunch in the '70s or from hurricanes KATRINA and RITA . How quickly we forget . Also , what ever happened to the the investigation of all the money missing in IRAQ and those who have money in banks overseas to avoid taxes ? Or those that have companies on the islands ( PUERTO RICO ? , forget , been so long since seeing that on the news few years ago

) to avoid taxation . So many loopholes for the big boys to take advantage of to fill their wallets and leave it to the " SMALL PEOPLE " to flip the bill . Kinda like the other party going to the toilet at the end of a meal and going out the window to avoid the bill .

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: willix
It's all part of the push to put us all in public transportation.



Bingo!


There were many reasons why the car companies were saved....some that you wouldn't think about.


Somebody has to step up and biuld the buses...(and trains)

 

[motorguy222]

We keep hearing that taxes need to be raised to pay for roads and that there isnt enough money to do so.It seems that some are drinking the kool aid and have swallowed the jug it was in too.

Lets do something here that the proponents of raising taxes arent doing.

Lets look at facts,a word that many that love tax hikes are afraid of.

In 2009,the US used around 378 million gallons of gas per day,yes,per day.You take that and multiply it by the 18.4 cent per gallon federal gas tax and you have more than enough money to fix any and all roads that are in the US.The number of gallons times the tax equals:$6,955,200,000 This is a days worth of taxes.

People,this is just more of the tax and spend bunch wanting to do just that,tax and spend and some even here on the baord are falling for it.

Once again,the total tax per day is:$6,955,200,000

Wake up people.

 

[HTSS_TR]

You're off by a factor of 100, Federal gas tax per day is $69,552,000.

If the tax is $1 per gallon and daily usage is 378 million gallons, then the tax amount is $378 million.

 

[odie]

How about 9 cents ? Less strain on the pocket . Yes , I do agree we need better rail transportation like that of EUROPE and JAPAN ( bullet trains ). It would produce more jobs and make for less traffic on the roads ( less wear to them , less money ) . Much government and businesses send their empoyees on the road for training which costs more money . Why many don't use live teleconferencing is beyond us . The other 1/2 mentioned switching most of her employers lighting ( in/out ) to energy saving bulbs at a meeting to cut costs and was totally ignored ( a big hush ) as if she was off her rocker

. Uh oh , another tree hugger

. We have enegy saving bulbs made by SYLVANIA from 15 years ago that were $15.00 each that still work . So they make for savings ( money , fuel , pollution , less stress on the grid ) at that cost back then .

 

[Shannow]

With regards to taxing fuel, consider that you are already paying income taxes to provide you with the general infrastructure that you can't afford singly.

Then you are paying programme taxes (fuel, SS, etc. - forgive my terminology, but hopefully translates from Oz to US).

Motor vehicle taxes for the damage that a car does to the road (based on weight)

Consumption taxes (VAT, GST, 6%, 8%, 10% etc).

Sin taxes (booze, smokes, petrol etc. etc.).

Then ultimately you pay tolls.

Stating that (personal) fuel taxes don't pay enough for maintaining the roads is a scam, as it negates the other taxes that you are already paying to have the infrastructure that you could not possibly afford on your own.

Oz introduced a "Medicare Levy", on top of existing taxes, then later argued that actual costs were 6 times the levy extractions, so the levy should be increased, and pushed us all into Private Insurance as well...making the pie bigger.

To imply that the petrol taxes need to pay for the roads, is also to imply that your entire bucket of taxes should not be going into consolidated revenue, and spread out over the programmes, but you should have an itemised bill, of how much personal income tax goes to the roads, how much fuel tax goes to the roads, is an extraction levy for depleting common resources, how much goes into trauma etc.

Hope that you get my drift.

Also, you've got to remember that your highway network is part of your national security (an internet like transportation system where loss of a node will not cripple the system)...otherwise M1s would be designed to be dragged through rail tunnels, and they are clearly not.

 

[motorguy222]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
You're off by a factor of 100, Federal gas tax per day is $69,552,000.

If the tax is $1 per gallon and daily usage is 378 million gallons, then the tax amount is $378 million.


Yes,you are right.I had an oops moment.The old decimal point eluded me.

This is still over $69,000,000 per day.That is over 24 billion a year,there is no need for a 15 cent increase.

The 18.4+15 = 33.4% tax rate.

33.4 X 378,000,000 = $126,252,000.00 a day.

That ads up to:$44,440,704.00 a year.

If the money that is taken in now was managed as it should be,there would be enough to fix the US highways.

Many are taxed to the point that they cant afford anymore.They are working to pay taxes,they cant afford other things.

Something else that is overlooked is the state gas tax that is usually supposed to be used for roads.You have a state tax plus a federal tax and where is the money?

 

[SteveSRT8]

we need to learn to get by on what we collect now.

Simply raising taxes is an invitation to just keep doing things the same way. I'll take the job for a small commission!

 

[eljefino]

I'd rather tax consumption than income or small businesses.

You can't really tax an under-the-table nanny or landscaper if everyone stays silent and pay cash, and I don't want to penalize someone with a nascent small business (idea) before they "go legit". For all they're doing it's showing initiative and risk and there isn't 99 weeks of benefits if it doesn't work out. Getting consumers closes lots of loopholes in the not particularly fair income tax system.

This country imports 70% of its petroleum, something that needs attention.

The federal gas tax hasn't increased since, what, 1994 when gas was $1.10? It's about time.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: motorguy222

Something else that is overlooked is the state gas tax that is usually supposed to be used for roads.You have a state tax plus a federal tax and where is the money?


I concur that accounting for the purpose-specific gas tax monies is a critical first step, and they should not be used in a general pot like some other taxes are.

But assuming that there is STILL more maintenance/upkeep required than the income from the taxes is, there is no other option (besides more debt). Sure, long term, income tax and other such things could share in the cost picture, but then all the entitlement programs would need to be done away with, which may further hurt the "little guy", particularly during retirement, the same "little guy" you want to protect by allowing him to commute 40-60 miles away without paying his share of wear and tear on the roads (which I find it hard to believe most people in the USA would commute 40-60 miles without using a US or interstate highway for a good chunk, BTW).

Better accountability overall is critical, dont get me wrong, but until something else gets chopped to re-allocate funds, and until it is verified that it is not the case that 100% of the fuel taxes are used on the roads and is not enough, we cannot say anything for certain.

 

[4ever4d]

The problem with this is that as all other programs in DC the extra fuel tax will never be spent on the roads and highways as it should be it will be reappropreated to line the pockets of the already overpaid DC staff of idiots.I see with the political implications of this thread myself included it being locked in short order btw.

 

[pottymouth]

Originally Posted By: antonmnster

I try to bike to work as much as I can. But I'm paying for roads I'm not using through the income tax. Meanwhile, people who make less than I do - and pay NO income tax - commute insane distances and get their roads subsidized by me. Talk about socialism!


Sorry, but even those who don't own a car use the roads. Even if you walk to the store, all the goods you purchase are brought in on the roads. I'm sure your employer's business relies on the roads in many ways. The utility companies use the roads when maintaining their infrastructure, the mail you get every day moved on the roads, the police that patrol your neighborhood, etc.

 

[IndyIan]

Up here we pay about $1.20/gallon in total taxes on gas. And our price is about $3.80-4.00/gallon right now...
I'm not saying its a great thing but I think our national average rated fuel economy would be higher than the US by quite a bit.
Your interstate system is also pretty expensive to maintain, I've been on interstate 90 through SD and there was grass growing in the left lane as the concrete was so cupped no one drove in that lane... Probably 1/4 of the midwest divided interstates could be made 2 lanes with the odd passing area.

 

[pottymouth]

Originally Posted By: 4ever4d
The problem with this is that as all other programs in DC the extra fuel tax will never be spent on the roads and highways as it should be it will be reappropreated to line the pockets of the already overpaid DC staff of idiots.I see with the political implications of this thread myself included it being locked in short order btw.


I agree. Personally, I have no problem paying an additional 15 cents a gallon if the money is used efficiently and entirely on things like fixing crumbling bridges, potholes, etc. No way the government will use this money properly. It will simply become another permanent income stream for Uncle Sam to use as he pleases. When has the government ever spent money as efficiently as the people who actually earned it?

 

[Virtuoso]

If the raods that need fixing actually get fixed, I'd be all for it.

Our rural highways are in fine shape. The streets in the city of 23,000 I work in can be a different story. Travel to Omaha to see my family (pop 428,000 not including many connected surrounding communities) and the roads are completely [censored]!

If I didn't have to buy a new set of struts every time I went to go see my family in O-town, that'd be great. But where does this money actually go?