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You may be paying more at the pump before too long.
Posted: Dec 4, 2013
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/12/03/concrete-proposals-for-raising-gas-tax-finally-on-the-table/
What are your thoughts on this? Is this the right time to rasie taxes on anything?
;
Very, very, very bad idea. The cost of gas for - truck drivers who transport
[ In Reply To ..]goods has already gone up, which causes prices to go up in the store. We as consumers will pay the price double; our cars and our groceries.
I always say as the price of gas goes..... - Mom22dogs
[ In Reply To ..]......so goes the price of everything else! Except, of course, on the rare times that it actually goes down everything else stays jacked up!
The oil companies raise prices - sm
[ In Reply To ..]We are at the whim of the oil companies and the rich CEOs and we all just take it. But when we need money for highway maintenance and building more to handle the increasing population of drivers, people always balk.
There is some sort of short memory going on. Don't people remember the I35 bridge collapse in Minnesota? Recently, a section of interstate was suddenly closed near here because of major structural defects from corrosion. Guess what? The oil companies do not pay to fix these problems. Taxes do.
The article is about a democrat proposing a - gas TAX raise. nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
So, what is the post about? - nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
Gas taxes have nothing to do with - oil companies. end
[ In Reply To ..]nm
The bridge collapse in Minnesota was due to - faulty engineering design and
[ In Reply To ..]the company was sued. The company's name, San Francisco-based URS Corp.
Sen Diane Feinstein's husband is big time stockholder/owner of URS.
65000 other fracture critical bridges out there - Don't worry, be happy
[ In Reply To ..]who is going to fix it? Taxpayers.
Construction completed in 1967, declared structurally deficient - in 1990, and in 2003
[ In Reply To ..]gusset plate bowing was documented. The 40-year-old design failed to accommodate 2 inches of surface concrete that was subsequently added to increase its dead load capacity...which on the day of collapse was exceeded by the weight of construction equipment and materials located on top of the bridge's weakest point.
These so-called design flaws evolve over time with age, wear, and increases in traffic that eventually exceed the original design capacities. No surprises here. I started driving in 1963 and can never in my wildest imagination see myself using bridge spans constructed in 1923 that had a 17-year history of being structurally deficient and a 4-year history of failed gusset plate inspections that remain ignored and uncorrected. BTW, there was a greater increase in motor vehicle ownership in the US between 1967 and 2007 than there was between 1923 and 1963.
PS. Richard Blum, DF's husband, first invested in URS Corp in 1975, a full 14 years after Sverdrup & Parcel received standard specifications approval and "Bridge 9340" was capitalized. URS was not involved in the design, building or any subsequent construction work, including the resurfacing work being done when the bridge collapsed. IOW, the husband of a sitting democrat senator has absolutely nothing to do with the issue at hand....how to replenish dwindling MAP-21 transportation revenues to address our nation's well documented crumbling infrastructure. Of even less relevance is the junk science and partisan blame-casting the GOP inevitably tries to hide behind when trying to avoid responsible funding legislation.
Zville was wondering if this is the "right time" to increase any taxes. I have to wonder, if not now (9 months before transport funds are slated for complete exhaustion) then when? Time for the GOP to don their grown-up pants and be part of the effort to prevent future I-35 collapses.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/08/23/129387414/minneapolis-bridge-collapse-lawsuits-settled-for-52-4-million
Another point of view, I remember the MN-DOT and - talking about amount of salt needed
[ In Reply To ..]needed to de-ice.
Congress Should Free Essential Bridge Repairs from Davis? Bacon Restrictions
By James Sherk
In the wake of the tragic Minnesota bridge collapse, many Members of Congress have called for higher taxes to raise money to repair aging bridges and other essential infrastructure. Instead, Congress should remove restrictions that make repairing bridges unnecessarily expensive. The Davis-Bacon Act requires federal construction contractors to pay wages significantly above market rates, making federal construction more expensive while providing no public benefit. Congress should exempt from Davis-Bacon restrictions the construction or maintenance of any bridge that the Federal Highway Administration's bridge inspection program classifies as structurally deficient or obsolete. This would enable the government to repair more bridges without raising taxes.
Calls for Tax Increases Misplaced
Shortly after the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minnesota that killed 13 people, Members of Congress called for immediate action to repair America's highway infrastructure. These calls are perfectly appropriate. Many of America's bridges were built before the 1970s and now need significant repairs and upgrades. The Department of Transportation estimates that 13.1 percent of bridges in America are structurally deficient.[1] Upgrading and repairing aging infrastructure is an important government priority.
Some Members of Congress want to raise the federal gas tax to fund these bridge repairs. However, tax increases are not necessary. The problem is not insufficient funds (Congress already spends tens of billions of dollars a year on highway construction projects); rather, the problem is wasteful spending. Congress diverts billions of dollars to pork-barrel projects that provide little public benefit but do help its Members win re-election. And more money is wasted as a result of federal regulations that make construction projects needlessly expensive.
Davis-Bacon Wastes Tax Dollars
During the Great Depression, non-union southern contractors employing black workers were moving north to work on construction projects. Congress passed the Davis-Bacon Act in 1931 to protect unionized northern white workers from the new competition.[2] It serves a similar purpose today, shielding unionized construction firms from non-union competition.
Davis-Bacon requires contractors on federal construction projects to pay workers a federally defined "prevailing wage." The methodology used to calculate this prevailing wage sets it close to union wage scales and well above average wages. Davis-Bacon requirements help unionized construction firms to win federal construction contracts-even though they pay above-market wages-because their non-union competitors must also pay inflated union wages.
Davis-Bacon coverage raises the price of construction projects-including bridge repairs-dramatically. Table 1 shows Davis-Bacon wages and average market wages in several U.S. cities. Davis-Bacon rates are typically 15 to 40 percent higher than average wages for the same job. In some cases, Davis-Bacon rates are more than double the competitive wage.
Taxpayers foot the bill, because contractors pass on the cost of higher wages to the federal government. The Government Accountability Office found that Davis-Bacon increases federal contractors' costs by more than $1 billion per year.[3] The Davis-Bacon Act is a classic example of a Washington handout that benefits special interests and provides no public benefit.
Davis-Bacon Exemption Would Expedite Bridge Repairs
The Davis-Bacon Act means that taxpayers get less for their money and that every dollar spent on bridge repairs does not go as far as it could. Rather than increasing the already pressing tax burden on the American people, Congress should exempt vital infrastructure repairs from Davis-Bacon restrictions. Congress should amend the Davis-Bacon Act to exempt work on any bridge that the Federal Highway Administration's bridge inspection program classifies as structurally deficient or obsolete. This would ensure that more taxpayer dollars are spent on vital national needs. It would also enable the government to repair more bridges at a faster rate without needlessly raising taxes.
Conclusion
Congress inflates the cost of construction projects by requiring federal contractors to pay inflated union wage rates. Unions strongly support this policy because it means less competition and more money for their members. But it also means higher taxes and fewer essential bridge repairs for drivers. Congress should exempt work on structurally deficient or obsolete bridges from the Davis-Bacon Act. The American people do not need higher gasoline taxes to improve bridge safety. They need a Congress that spends tax dollars more wisely.
Gas does not have to be so high in this country... - barbie
[ In Reply To ..]but it is all part of the president's agenda to collapse the economy.
As director of the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, Steven Chu, Obama’s secretary at the Department of Energy, said in an interview that gas taxes should slowly be increased over the next 15 years in order to force people to turn to alternative energy sources.
“Somehow, we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to levels in Europe,” said Chu.
In Europe, the price for a gallon of gas consistently hovers around $10 a gallon.
It’s pretty clear that the Obama administration is waging a covert war against traditional energy sources in a vain attempt to manipulate the nation’s energy markets. And, unfortunately, that war is killing our economy by driving up energy prices.
I think it's the WORST time to raise taxes on - Libby
[ In Reply To ..]ANYTHING (except maybe the rich, who can afford it). Food is already being taken away from the poorest people in this country, and a raise in gasoline prices would only worsen the situation of the working poor in trying to get back and forth to their minimum wage job (sometimes multiple minimum wage jobs).
As usual, the rich won't feel the pain.
I agree with Barbara Boxer's assessment of the matter (from your link):
"Meanwhile, Senator Barbara Boxer — whose opinion about these things matters most, as she heads the powerful Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — signaled that she’s most favorable to a wholesale oil fee — a percentage sales tax applied at the refinery level."
They should also stop the oil subsidies that also makes the corporations richer.
I believe this is a terrible idea.
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