MEMPHIS, TN -(WMC) - Would you pay more for gas if it meant you'd be driving on better roads?
That's part of the thought behind a proposal from Tennessee Senator Bob Corker that is getting national attention Thursday.
When asked, some would say with the national average for regular unleaded gas sitting at $3.67 a gallon, consumers are already spending too much on gas.
Corker's proposal would mean 6 cents the first year and another 6 cents the second year for a total of 12 cents extra per gallon.
The last time the gas tax was increased was in 1993, and now the proposal's backers, republican Tennessee Senator Bob Corker and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, say it needs to be done again. If not, they say there won't be money to pay for transportation projects such as roads, bridges, and transit systems.
Senator Murphy is calling this a "transportation crisis."
Senator Corker said, "if Americans feel that having modern roads and bridges is important, then Congress should have the courage to pay for it."
Oh yes Senator Corker....Millionaire Corker we must paaaaay for it. One small problem...we already did pay for it. Turns out that not all of the tax money raised from transportation taxes actually is allotted for infrastructure repair. We know that some green projects like bike lanes and visioning programs that are supposed to make communities more livable, meaning you won't need a car, are siphoning off funds that came from the gas tax. As it turns out, you support a lot of these programs.
The federal government makes more profit off of gasoline than the actual gas companies, so please spare us the "transportation crisis". We get it. We know how things work now and we aren't excepting the status quo anymore. You know, the "never let a good crisis go to waste" status quo?
We are done, we are over it, and the rest of us are moving on. You guys in the political class still operate as if you are in charge. It's as if you haven't seen the political earthquakes that are turning the rivers of D.C. in a different direction. You aren't there yet, and that's OK. You might want to spend more time trying to support your buddy Lamar Alexander and less time trying to raise taxes. I hear there's a Cantor in the wind...