12.09.09
I’m so sick of this….
Via the DMN’s transpoblog, we learn about this Rasmussen poll which had a shocking finding. It asked if Americans want their taxes raised…. and 74% said no.
Here are the questions:
1) Americans pay a federal tax of 18.4 cents on each gallon of gas to help fund transportation projects. Should the government raise the gas tax to help meet new transportation needs?
15% Yes
74% No
10% Not sure2) Which is better – raising the federal gas tax or cutting back nationally on transportation projects?
22% Raising the federal gas tax
55% Cutting back nationally on transportation projects
23% Not sure
It’s pretty easy to tell that these are pretty idiotic questions as they pertain to transportation funding. First if you just said you’re against raising taxes it’s extremely likely that you’ll say choose “cutting back” in questions two. That 7% changed their mind is remarkable. The other part is that transportation projects are not likely to be cut back any time, no matter which party is in power. The only difference, as EOW readers well know, is would you rather pay a little more in gas taxes or a lot more in tolls?
The short and lazy questions that this poll asked and answered are comical. A better way would have been to start out by asking whether we need to upgrade our highway infrastructure in our country. With a follow up of how would you rather pay for that, with an extremely expensive system of toll roads or a modest increase in the gas tax. Now those two questions probably seem biased to someone on the anti-gas tax side, but those really are the only two options we have to pay for new highways.
Which brings us to the overriding discussion that we’re not having. Which was highlighted at the end of the transpoblog post:
But the Rasmussen survey is not the last word on this subject. HNTB polled on the issue and also found resistance to a higher gas tax. But the HNTB survey also found the public more attuned to the need to pay for fixing congestion somehow. [Emphasis added].
We are all affected by our neglected transportation infrastructure in this country and state in many ways. What this debate has been missing for years and still is, especially in Texas is a leader in this conversation. Which is why Hank Gilbert’s transportation proposal is needed. No one wants to pay more taxes, but taxpayers mind less if they see their money having a positive effect in their lives. A true leader can bring the people along, to do what’s right, and best for our future prosperity. A better transportation infrastructure is good for our country and our state in many ways, the economic benefits alone should be enough of a reason. It should not be hard for a skilled leader and politician to point that out and use it to their advantage.