WASHINGTON (AP) - Small wonder Congress has kept federal highway and transit programs teetering on the edge of insolvency for years, unable to find a politically acceptable long-term source of funds. The public can't make up its mind on how to pay for them either.
Six in 10 Americans think the economic benefits of good highways, railroads and airports outweigh the cost to taxpayers. Yet there is scant support for some of the most frequently discussed options for paying for construction of new roads or the upkeep of existing ones, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
Among those who drive places multiple times per week, 62 percent say the benefits outweigh the costs. Among those who drive less than once a week or not at all, 55 percent say the costs of road improvement are worthwhile.
Yet a majority of all Americans - 58 percent - oppose raising federal gasoline taxes to fund transportation projects such as the repair, replacement or expansion of roads and bridges. Only 14 percent support an increase. And by a better than 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose having private companies pay for construction of new roads and bridges in exchange for the right to charge tolls. Moving to a usage tax based on how many miles a vehicle drives also draws more opposition than support - 40 percent oppose it, while 20 percent support it.
http://bit.ly/1p7RNak
My own poll, which consisted of...well, just me, showed 100% agreement that we should not raise taxes, enact toll roads, or any other government scam to pay for roads. You are probably saying to yourself, well then Midsouth Sentinel, how are we going to pay for our crumbling roads and bridges and I would say, I'm glad you asked.
Like other government programs, the taxes collected for repairing roads do no all get spent on repairing roads. Shocked? I know but it's the truth. You know all those bike paths, trails, and other "greening" type projects that take place in your community? That's paid for from your transportation taxes that are collected specifically for infrastructure repair. Some cities budgets for repair of roads and bridges are diverting as much as 60% of these funds. It's no small amount but it is an amount that would pay for the repair of our roads and bridges without raising taxes.
You love you some green planet-saving projects? Well then kudos to you but YOU need to pay for it. All these sustainable development livable workable communities...it doesn't come free, especially when you are centrally planning it from the government, like China. They have those Live Work Play communities and it's not working out very well.
We started hearing about needing to raise the gas tax (Thank You Bailout Bob Corker) from a pretend Republican in the Senate and I would just like to point out...the government makes more money off the gas companies than the actual gas companies and you think this is about finding a solution to the problem? Not hardly...
When you hear people talking about raising taxes to pay for the repair of roads and bridges, ask to see the current budget on these repairs and look at what else they are paying for with those taxes.
It's a scam....and they know it
Six in 10 Americans think the economic benefits of good highways, railroads and airports outweigh the cost to taxpayers. Yet there is scant support for some of the most frequently discussed options for paying for construction of new roads or the upkeep of existing ones, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
Among those who drive places multiple times per week, 62 percent say the benefits outweigh the costs. Among those who drive less than once a week or not at all, 55 percent say the costs of road improvement are worthwhile.
Yet a majority of all Americans - 58 percent - oppose raising federal gasoline taxes to fund transportation projects such as the repair, replacement or expansion of roads and bridges. Only 14 percent support an increase. And by a better than 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose having private companies pay for construction of new roads and bridges in exchange for the right to charge tolls. Moving to a usage tax based on how many miles a vehicle drives also draws more opposition than support - 40 percent oppose it, while 20 percent support it.
http://bit.ly/1p7RNak
My own poll, which consisted of...well, just me, showed 100% agreement that we should not raise taxes, enact toll roads, or any other government scam to pay for roads. You are probably saying to yourself, well then Midsouth Sentinel, how are we going to pay for our crumbling roads and bridges and I would say, I'm glad you asked.
Like other government programs, the taxes collected for repairing roads do no all get spent on repairing roads. Shocked? I know but it's the truth. You know all those bike paths, trails, and other "greening" type projects that take place in your community? That's paid for from your transportation taxes that are collected specifically for infrastructure repair. Some cities budgets for repair of roads and bridges are diverting as much as 60% of these funds. It's no small amount but it is an amount that would pay for the repair of our roads and bridges without raising taxes.
You love you some green planet-saving projects? Well then kudos to you but YOU need to pay for it. All these sustainable development livable workable communities...it doesn't come free, especially when you are centrally planning it from the government, like China. They have those Live Work Play communities and it's not working out very well.
We started hearing about needing to raise the gas tax (Thank You Bailout Bob Corker) from a pretend Republican in the Senate and I would just like to point out...the government makes more money off the gas companies than the actual gas companies and you think this is about finding a solution to the problem? Not hardly...
When you hear people talking about raising taxes to pay for the repair of roads and bridges, ask to see the current budget on these repairs and look at what else they are paying for with those taxes.
It's a scam....and they know it
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