What's wrong with Obama?
Obama has said that raising the gas tax would place another burden on the American people in a time of hardship. He couldn't be more wrong. It is what the American people most need.
Then the price of gas dropped, in large part because of the bad economy. It fell to around $1.50. This was only temporary. The wise thing to do was to raise the gas tax immediately. But Congress, thanks to years of propaganda, is afraid to do that. It would take courageous leadership, and there isn't any to be found.
Why raise the gas tax? Here are some reasons:
- Driving is down, so gas purchasing is down, so the Federal Highway Trust Fund is broke. For the first time, it has been necessary to put appropriated funds into it to keep projects going. If we are to repair all our bridges and tunnels before another one fails, there must be a lot of money put into the fund.
- Deficits are growing rapidly. There must be some revenue. We can't count on the world continuing to buy our bonds. We need to pay for some things ourselves.
- The price of gas is moving up. People are starting to buy gas guzzlers again. We'll be back where we were a few months ago unless we reverse this trend.
- Record numbers of people have turned to mass transit, which is the most fuel-efficient way to move people. What is the effect of this trend? All over the country, over-stretched transit systems are looking at service cuts and fare increases, discouraging transit use when we most need to encourage it.
