How the gas tax will help us

by: Jeff Rosenberg

Tue Jul 01, 2008 at 06:55:44 AM CDT

It was the DFL legislative leaders who pushed a massive gas-tax increase. (emphasis added)

I don't think people will buy it. The increase in the gas tax is responsible for a scarcely perceptible portion of increasing gas prices. In fact, I dare Mr. Brodkorb and his colleagues, like Michelle Bachman, John Kline, and Norm "W" Coleman, to keep pressing this attack. It illustrates the Republican mindset perfectly: they're perfectly willing to sacrifice our roads and bridges, our economic competitiveness, and our quality of life to save 2 cents. According to twincitiesgasprices.com, the average price of gas today is $3.966/gal. 2 cents of that was due to the recently-increased gas tax--approximately 1/2 of 1 percent of the current price of gas. And it will bring us a bundle of benefits (more on that in a moment).

It continues to boggle my mind that Republicans oppose investment in our state. Nobody would run their personal finances the way the conservatives have tried to mismanage our state. Just suppose you had the opportunity to make an investment which would cost approximately 1 percent of your monthly fuel costs. In exchange for that small added expense, you could gain the following benefits:

- You could make needed home repairs more quickly, lowering your costs and gaining equity.
- Your health and productivity would increase, giving you more time with your family and making you more likely to get a raise at work.
- You would consume less fuel each year overall, thus reducing your costs.

That's exactly what the Republicans are huffing and puffing about! The DFL legislature has asked us for a modest sacrifice, equivalent to approximately 1 percent of our current gas costs. In exchange, we can have the following:

- We have already moved up the schedule for fixing our roads and bridges, which have been crumbling under Republican rule.
- We can expand the capacity of our roadways and transit, thus helping people move faster and making us a more attractive destination for doing business.
- Decreased congestion (or, the way things have been going, slower-increasing congestion) can help everyone reduce fuel consumption and commute time, helping our investment to pay off immediately.

Folks, this is a no brainer. I know that higher gas prices are hurting people, but the transportation bill is not responsible for that! Unfortunately, we have developed a transportation system so dependent on fossil fuels--for which both parties are responsible--that it will take a while to dig out of the current situation. In the meantime, we can't afford to let our infrastructure decay and our competitive advantage against other regions diminish. For the small cost of the investment, our returns are vastly greater.