THERE SEEMS to be total agreement among our political leaders that we need an extra $1 billion a year to pay for roads, bridges, and mass transit, but none of them are saying how they’ll raise the money (“Patrick vows new funds for roads, rail,” Page A1, Jan. 5). They seem terrified of talking about increasing taxes.
But it’s hard to see how they will come up with the money without increasing the state’s base 19 cents per gallon gas tax. The buying power of this tax has eroded by 40 percent since 1991 due to inflation — in effect, a tax cut. It has dropped as a percentage of the cost of a gallon of gasoline from approximately 15 to 7 percent.
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Harry, people can't afford gas now, this will cripple people that are struggling. this state waste money like it was water, take a look at the 19,000. welfare recipients that are missing, costing the tax payer 91 million dollars a year, the tax payers are tapped out. We spend one billion dollars a year on illegal immigrants, welfare, education, health care, incarceration. Look at the payroll this state has, let's not even get into the Housing authority scandal.
Ah of course, raise more taxes, the Democrat decision making process in action. Deval diverts money already allocated for roads and bridges into welfare programs such as the fraud-ridden EBT program with as many as 4% of recipients not even real Massachusetts residents, and his supporters think we should just raise more taxes.
Clean up the fraud, hold government accountable for the money we already give them, and lower taxes. Oh, and stop wasting money on those dangerous bike lanes all over our cities, those are better places to start.
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We did that 15 years ago but they don't make appropriations to do the work and the gas tax ends up in the general fund.
I have a viable alternative! A gas tax is regressive. Instead, end fossil fuel subsidies, close coporate tax loopholes, and tax CARBON. Place a rising fee on fossil fuel extraction, and refund the fee directly to citizens to offset rising fuel prices, encourage conservation and alternatives, and spur the development of green energy. We need incentives to end fossil fuels (and the huge cost of toxicity and global warming) while promoting green energy and better infrastructure. While we're at it, raise income taxes on the uber rich and separate their money from influencing government.