12 cent federal gas tax increase coming?

[nemo]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

There has been illegal stadium dealings in MN BY LAWMAKERS and govt officials but it seems nobody can do anything about it.

Corporate welfare. If they can't afford their own stadium tough.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

They had plenty of money to update those bridges that failed but instead wasted it in other places. Spending money on an old bridge doesn't get as many votes and attention as making a new scenic bike path.

Until the bridge fails.

[user removed]

Originally Posted by cowmeat

We can all counteract the rising gas prices, that's why we're on this site in the first place. Most of the tips/tricks/techniques I use to make driving affordable I've learned right here in the last 5 months. I don't expect things to get better, I expect they're going to get much worse, so I keep learning & modding.

Want to immediately cut your fuel cost by 50% and lower your carbon footprint at the same time? Carpool with one person. (check)

Want to cut it by 66%? Trade in a Land Rover you love, and replace it with a tiny, slow, goofy looking yet insanely efficient car you end up loving even more! (check)

Want to cut it by 75%? Take that econobox, aeromod it until it's unrecognizable and then hypermile the crap out of it (check)

Want to cut it 100 percent? Walk/bike . . . (I'll settle for 75%)

Or ride a bike (last tank 84MPG) and have fun.

regards
Mech

[Hersbird]

Some try and say gas taxes, license fees, public parking fees, oil leases, etc still don't actually cover the money spent on roads and highways. I call BS on that. Not to mention all the added GDP roads and highways add that then gets taxed and added to the overall spending. Fuel customers are more then pulling their own weight when it comes to this government service.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Otherwise, I find the current infrastructure to be adequate. Go to any other country, developed or undeveloped, and you will not find smoother roads.

I'm not sure about this, in NorCal the roads are filled with potholes, and the one time I went to Texas the potholes were 2x as big. We don't even have snow and its associated problems.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

Some try and say gas taxes, license fees, public parking fees, oil leases, etc still don't actually cover the money spent on roads and highways. I call BS on that. Not to mention all the added GDP roads and highways add that then gets taxed and added to the overall spending. Fuel customers are more then pulling their own weight when it comes to this government service.

In most places it goes to subsidize public transportation, or into a general slush fund.

Hardly anyone knows (and virtually no one cares) where the tax money goes once it leaves your pocket. It's too late to close the barn door after your horse is gone.

Yes, it's government. Yes it's another additional tax. But a "service"?

Service, indeed. As much as the Internal Revenue Service is a "service".

[Hersbird]

By service I meant the federal and state departments of transportation. As far as government agencies go they are more productive then most. Still incredibly wasteful and bloated but if all the other agencies were as useful as them it would actually be an improvement. Still I think the gas tax would be better off lowered rather then raised.

[Joggernot]

Just saw where we might get another 12 cents per gallon gas price increase.

Senators propose 12-cent gas tax increase to pay for highway, transit programs | Fox News

[user removed]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-29269.html

regards
Mech

[Fat Charlie]

I'm a big fan of higher gas taxes, sort of along the lines of "stupid should hurt." Fuel efficient vehicles should be encouraged as a matter of policy by making inefficiency cost more and letting the marketplace figure things out.

More fuel efficient vehicles directly add less pollution to the air and less wear and tear to the roads. Indirectly they cause fewer fuel tanker runs to their local stations (meaning that much less pollution and wear & tear). As an added bonus, smaller vehicles isolate the driver less from the outside world, promoting greater awareness. The perceived feeling of "danger" some people feel in smaller cars is really just awareness, and more of that leads directly to safer operation. Indirectly, when smaller cars do crash, they cause less damage to bystanders, telephone poles and other things near the road.

Indirect costs like increased freight expenses will end up shifting freight prices and maybe changing ordering behavior- maybe Amazon Prime will charge a couple more bucks to overnight things.