I'm not usually a big fan of 'the Kraut Hammer', but he makes a lot of sense on this one.
Count me in his column for a revenue neutral tax change, (reducing the federal payroll tax by the exact same amount as we increase the federal fuels tax).
The federal 'gas tax' is supposed to ENTIRELY pay for the upkeep and new construction of our federal highway system (bridges, roads, and rail) yet it has been falling further and further behind this goal - mostly because it was never indexed for the effects of inflation, yet the cost of all that construction and repair, of course, keeps going up.
Currently our "highway trust fund" is *MASSIVELY* underfunded and, you know what will happen if the federal gas tax can't cover what's necessary when construction can't be put off any longer, as bridges fall and what-not... they will *dip into* general federal revenue or into NEW DEBT for what must be covered.
This is exactly NOT the way that Ronald Reagan envisioned it.
He called this (federal 'gas tax') a "USER FEE" because that is exactly what it is --- those who use the federal highways and federal rail systems pay for their upkeep.
The more you use the system the more you contribute to it's construction and upkeep --- which is exactly how it should be.
Now, as to the revenue neutral part of his suggestion (reducing the federal payroll tax by exactly the same amount)... well, that is just right, right, right, especially considering our economic straits. |
