WaPo Promotes Federal Gas Tax Hike

“States are doing it. So why hasn’t Congress increased the federal gas tax?” So goes the headline in Saturday’s Washington Post advocating for yet another attempt to pick the pockets of the middle class—and along with them, the minimum wage workers least likely able to afford it.

The Post prints a litany of reasons why the Federal Government should raise the gas tax on top of what the states are already doing. Here are a couple.

Congress last raised the federal gas tax in 1993, which means that the 18.4-cent-per-gallon levy has fallen more than 40 percent in real terms. That is a rough indication of how much incentive for consumers to drive less, and to drive more fuel-efficient vehicles, thus reducing carbon emissions, Congress has passively forfeited.

These leftists cannot resist using the tax code as a cudgel to sanction behavior they disapprove of, such as driving oneself somewhere without permission from the government. Note the language. The leftists simply must promote their climate change scam. What’s worse is how they view your hard earned money. “…Congress has actively forfeited.” Such arrogance. It’s not your money. It’s ours!

The shrinking gas tax is a major reason the Federal Highway Trust Fund has enough money to meet its obligations only through fiscal 2020.

Sorry folks. That’s just false to fact. One reason the so-called, “Federal Highway Trust Fund” is running short of cash is because of the Davis-Bacon Act (David Webb, are you listening?). Davis-Bacon adds 40 percent to any construction project which uses Federal funds. Stay tuned for a follow-up to that particular issue.

The other reason is that no politician, local, state or federal, can resist shoving his snout down into that money trough up to the shoulders. Surprisingly, the Post halfway admits that (emphasis mine)

Obviously, a different political dynamic pertains to federal gas taxes, which are collected more remotely from where they are spent and used for mass transit, as well as roads.

Mass transit, bike paths and all sorts of other non-Federal Highway projects that take advantage of the slush fund that gas taxes provide fodder for.

The article’s final paragraph contains a truth and a lie all wrapped up together

Yet the states’ experience demonstrates that the American people are open to more rational fuel taxation and that Congress’s old excuses for avoiding it may no longer apply.

Yes, hard-working Americans are willing to pay for their use of the roads. However, what they usually end up getting, is higher taxes and crappy roads. They are certainly tired of their hard-earned dollars being siphoned off to promote the leftist agenda—bike paths and other such nonsense that does little if anything to make their daily commute any better.

Mike Ford, a retired Infantry Officer, writes on Military, Foreign Affairs and occasionally dabbles in Political and Economic matters.

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