[symple_spacing size=”40″]Here we go again. The Republicans, the party who is against spending money, now are talking about raising the Federal Gas Tax. Why raise it now you might ask? Because they can is my answer and they think that because the price of gasoline is now way down this is the time to get more money from the driving public.

The actual reason given is that the Federal Highway Trust Fund is going broke. But in truth there is no fund dedicated to this purpose, everything just goes into the General Fund. And who knows how the money is spent. Is it not time to say where is the trust fund money really being used and why is there not a true dedicated trust fund? Well I say it is about time they stop taking our money without it being used what it is supposed to be used for!

Our federal legislators must think that no one is watching what they are doing and that anything they want the American people will accept. Boy have they got that so wrong. No one seems to realize that by the lowing of the price of gasoline, it actually stimulates the economy and by increasing the Gas Tax the economy might just stagnate. And if it does we are in big trouble!

Does no one realize that we the driving public have more discretionary funds, because of the low gas prices, to spend on goods and services that we otherwise would not have? Yes, I mean more money in your pocket to buy electronics, make repairs, etc. What is wrong with that I have to ask those who think it is a good idea to raise a tax that is not dedicated? The idea that the monies being spent by the Federal Government are being used to fund highway projects that are really needed is ludicrous. Too many times it is driven by outside interests, such as unions whose members repair and/or build highways.

Yes I know that the roads need to repaired, but we need a fairer way to pay for it with oversight on how the monies are spent and a truly dedicated fund. Both of these things we do not now have. You have to realize that our cars get far better gas mileage than they did just a few short decades ago and many people have been buying hybrid vehicles which use even less fuel. The Federal Government mandated the raising of miles per gallon that our vehicles get and encouraged us to buy hybrids with tax incentives. Now because we are buying less gasoline, they want to raise the tax on it. What kind of circular logic is this?

Will they next say that they want to charge you by the number of miles you drive? Don’t laugh because some states are thinking of doing just that, so our Federal Government could just do this too. Is not there no end to their greed? Afterall they encouraged use to buy hybrids and to buy more efficient vehicles, did they not?

Again, it you the person in the street that must raise a ruckus and say no raising of taxes without showing us where they are being used. Plus there must be a truly dedicated fund that can not be used for anything other than what it was created for.

Just as an aside I will give you my credentials- Mechanical Engineer (and we do have something to do with the design and manufacture of automobiles), I have taken courses in Macro and Micro Economics plus Engineering Economics. Plus I have started and run a number of real businesses. So you can now see that I know what I am talking about.

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike

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