Jan 02 2009
Gas Tax Increase Considered
I am not one to get into the political side of anything, I do not like politics and I do not trust anything to do with political figures. I am reasonably intelligent and I can say I know more about politics than most of my friends (hubby makes sure I am well educated in that department), usually my main interest in politics and law changes focuses on income taxes.
I watched the news this morning, there was my first mistake I guess, and what I heard has actually angered me. The Federal Commission wants to raise the gas tax, we finally get a break from the disgusting gas prices this war and greed have caused and they want to punish us for our conservatism.
They say because the funding for road repairs and other transit projects have decreased due to motorists driving less, they need to increase the tax to compensate this deficit. What? If we are driving less does that not cause a reasonable decrease in the amount of wear and tear on the roads?
They are proposing a 10 cent increase for gas and a 12-15 cent increase for diesel all in the name of keeping our roadways driveable. The gas tax rates are already at 18.4 cents and diesel is at 24.4, with the increase don’t they foresee a bigger decrease in travel. I for one did not drive anywhere I did not have to when the gas prices where up, and I doubt I will travel much with the increase to the tax.
They want to hit us where it will hurt and then they want to complain about the economy going to pot, who is going to spend on consumer products when they can barely afford gas to go back and forth to work?
This will affect more avenues than they have considered. What about the minimum wage workers who have children? Already their paychecks are eaten by the cost of transportation and childcare. This will cause an increase of welfare applicants which always seems to anger taxpayers who do not receive it. What about the retirement community who already have to work to make ends meet? Small buisnesses will take a major hit, their costs will go up so our cost will go up and few will walk through their doors.
So many will be impacted negatively by this proposed increase, will they care to listen? Will they consider the working class individuals that earn lower pay? Will they consider the dual working families who struggle to make it even with two wage earners?
I often joke that I will be the first female president and that my platform will be Free Gas and Utilities for All, for it seems only those lucky enough to own those conglomerates are making money these days. If we did not have to pay for these necessities we would have more money to sink into consumerism, this would cause the economy to rise and more jobs to be produced. Well it makes sense to me.
The day they put a price cap on gas is the day they quit buying oil from overseas and start using our own reserves, as you could surmise this is unlikely to happen until the suppliers overseas run out. I guess I can understand their thinking in this endeavor, buy and use everybody else’s until it is gone then make them depend on us for it in the future. Hmm, United World of America anyone?
