Tea Party Gas-Tax Fix Is Bad Economics, Worse History

[highplainsdem]

This is by Bloomberg columnist Ron Klain, Biden's former chief of staff:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/tea-party-gas-tax-fix-is-bad-economics-worse-history-ron-klain.html

If the debt-ceiling showdown made your blood boil, if the shutdown of air-traffic-control work related to the airline-ticket tax drove you crazy, then you should unplug your TV and power down your computer in late September, as the deadline for extension of the federal gasoline tax draws near.

Because while President Barack Obama and most experts are pushing for a greater federal investment in roads and infrastructure to create jobs and strengthen our economy, a growing minority in Washington wants to end the federal gas tax and phase out funding for new construction under the federal roads program. That’s right: A sizable chunk of Republicans, led by Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Representative Jeff Flake of Arizona, want to abolish the tax that pays for the federal highway program and replace the whole system with one overseen by individual states.

-snip-

Like many other excise taxes, the federal highway tax comes up for periodic renewal, which is usually noncontroversial. But not this time. If Congress doesn’t act to renew the tax by Sept. 30, gas stations all over the country have to stop collecting it; the highway trust fund will never get the money; and new work on federal highway projects will come screeching to a halt.

A delay of just 10 days in renewing the tax would mean the permanent loss of $1 billion in highway funding (and layoffs for thousands of workers). Longer delays would measurably increase the national unemployment rate.

-snip-

Klain points out how irrational this Tea Party position is -- they're opposing the highway-financing system set up by Eisenhower, the individual states wouldn't be able to take over (especially the large, low-population Mountain West states), and a nationally funded road system was favored by the Founding Fathers the Tea Party claims to admire.

But of course what's really going on here is the push by rightwing corporate interests now controlling the Tea Party and the GOP to privatize as much of America's infrastructure as possible, for their own profits. Imagine those national highways all turned into toll roads run by right wing politicians' favorite donors. That's what they want.

[MrTriumph]

1. Just look at Tollant, er Tarrant County, Texas.

Rick Perry and his ilk LOVE toll roads.

[CatholicEdHead]

2. Or it could be a diversion for other things

The next level of brinkmanship. They took the debt ceiling hostage, they cannot do that again for a while. Now they have another crucial issue that they hope to get 98%+ out off with other major cuts to this and that. Republicans like their cars and their roads, but this is another faux brinkmanship for other cuts to the social safety net.

[HereSince1628]

3. There is certainly a public asset liquidation being pushed at many levels...

It's been going on for years, but there seems to be a renewed push for this due to the great recession.

In Wisconsin it appears Walker is trying to change the state constitution to facilitate the sale of public assets--including public lands that have contributed to trust funds for pubilc education funding since 1848! This funding has had broad public support since the territory became a state and it has weathered many recessions including the Great Depression. But now our Thatcherite governor wants to bring it to an end.

[louis-t]

4. Dumbass Snyder is already doing it in MI

[sinkingfeeling]

5. I read an article (& posted it here) a month ago that the gas tax was their next target.