Another push to increase Michigan's 34 cent gas tax

I normally agree with the Chamber and personally like a lot of the people there. I also know that many of their members are road builders, and that accounts for their view on this issue, the gas tax. I also disagree with them 100% on this gimmicky, left-wing so called solution to the roads.

From the Free Press

LANSING – Michigan’s crumbling roads and bridges cause traffic congestion that will cost the state 12,000 jobs, and cost $287 for every resident in lost time and wasted fuel, a new study concludes.

That’s about the same amount typical motorists would pay for doubling the state gas tax and vehicle registration fees – a $2.2-billion revenue increase that would pay for a vastly improved highway system, according to the report.

The study by Anderson Economic Group of Lansing was commissioned by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and shows the economic impact of good and bad roads. Chamber president Rich Studley said it’s long past time for state government to boost revenue for roads that are the lifeline of Michigan’s commerce, from manufacturing to tourism to agriculture.

Once again, this whole gas tax push is based on a false premise. The false premise is that only the gas tax can fund roads. Every single so called plan I have seen is based on that false premise. Every single advocacy for the tax is based on that. It's crap. I'm not going to rehash the arguments. I've done that about seven times already and nothing has changed. I last wrote about this in January when Rep. Dick Ball pushed for this

Here's the other write ups I've done on this topic, going back to 2007.

• Transportation tax passes committee - December 2009
• Ken Sikkema pushes for gas tax - August 2009
• Mike Crane pushes for gas tax - June 2009
• Flint Journal - May 2009
• Peter Luke's one of several articles advocating for the gas tax - April 2009
• November 2008 - Lansing insiders
• Granholm and Gilbert - January 2008
• October 2007

The media LIED here.

The study is the latest ammunition for proponents of a gas tax increase, who’ve argued for two years that the state is seriously underfunding its roads. The state for the first time will lose its full allocation of federal aid -- $475 million – because of an $84-million shortfall in its transportation fund, which is fed by the state’s 19-cent-per-gallon gas tax and vehicle registration fees.

The gas tax is NOT 19 cents a gallon. That is bullshit. When I go to the pump, I don't pay 19 cents to the state of Michigan.

Currently, the price is around $2.79 a gallon here. The Michigan taxes on gasoline amount to 34 cents a gallon, at this amount. No, not 19 cents, like the media likes to say. 34 cents. 34 cents of every gallon paid goes to the State of Michigan. That's the tax.

The tax pushers want us to pay 43 cents a gallon, plus more in registration fees. We need to make sure that this push is defeated, and we make proper budget restructuring to fix the roads instead of a BS gimmick based on the false assumption that the gas tax, and only the gas tax, can pay for transportation.