Congressional Panel recommends 50% hike on Gasoline Tax

Now that we are finally getting some relief at the gas pump -- some of the 'smarter' people want to increase the gas tax. A congressional panel is recommending an immediate 10 cent per gallon hike and up to a 50% increase.

A 50 percent increase in gasoline and diesel fuel taxes is being urged by a federal commission to finance highway construction and repair until the government devises another way for motorists to pay for using public roads.

The National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing, a 15-member panel created by Congress, is the second group in a year to call for higher fuel taxes.

With motorists driving less and buying less fuel, the current 18.4 cents a gallon gas tax and 24.4 cents a gallon diesel tax fail to raise enough to keep pace with the cost of road, bridge and transit programs. (Yahoo News)

Yes, after being financially buried under the weight of $4.00 a gallon gas due to rising oil prices - we did as asked - we checked the air in our tires and curtailed our consumption. Due to this, and the "in the crapper" world economy - oil prices dropped, well at least for now, earning us a brief respite where we are not forced to decide between food and gas.

So now as we are asked to go "green," a panel of congressionally appointed pukes want to increase the federal gas tax and urge states to increase state gas taxes to make up for the loss of finances due to lower consumption.

A study by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies estimated that the annual gap between revenues and the investment needed to improve highway and transit systems was about $105 billion in 2007, and will increase to $134 billion in 2017 under current trends.

Jumping on the band wagon in support of the gas tax increase is an unlikely bedfellow - the trucking industry. The truckers, plagued with traffic congestion, support the tax increase as a way of financing project to ease their driving burdens.

The trucking industry has offered up a very scary way of 'hiding' these gas tax increases - they want to call them a 'carbon tax' instead of a 'gas tax'. I guess they figure the tree-hugging, "save gas - fart in a jar," global warming geeks will jump on board with this twist of words or pack of lies.

Charles Whittington, chairman of the American Trucking Associations, which supports a fuel tax increase as long as the money goes to highway projects, said Congress may decide to disguise a fuel tax hike as a surcharge to combat climate change.

"Instead of calling it a gas tax, call it a carbon tax," Whittington said.

I work in heavy highway construction and infrastructure installation, maintenance and repair. Many projects have been put on hold due to the economic crisis. The cost of almost everything involved in this line of work is directly related to oil prices from the manufacturing of PVC pipe, the batching of asphalt to the delivery of the asphalt, concrete, stone and other materials to the project.

One of the unknown costs and usual sources of waste in these projects is poor design engineering. I can go on and on where municipalities spent untold amounts (over hundreds of thousands of dollars) of money because of poor designs. Multiplying those thousands of dollars for cities across the United States and the figure would be staggering. Because of various reasons, these costs are never recouped by the communities. Thus, decreasing the amount of funds that can be spent on other projects.

Traffic congestion is a big problem for truckers and growing communities. Also, without going into to details, the stopping & starting of traffic wreaks havoc on pavement - but in many cases there are "green" ways of reducing the congestion, energy costs and extending the life of pavement. Extending the life of pavement rests directly on proper design, installation, drainage and a routine maintenance plan. One without the other - and the structural integrity of your pavement suffers - thus shortening its' life span.

Some communities have been installing LED traffic signals with a closed-loop traffic system, either by installing all new traffic signals or retro-fitting existing signals with LED bulbs. The cost of these new systems are offset by the savings from a decreased used of electricity, and since LED bulbs last far longer than standard bulbs, the cities will see a decrease in lamp maintenance.

Aiding with the flow of traffic are motion-sensor traffic cameras. These cameras, not to be confused with red light or speeding cameras, take the place of the coaxial cable traffic loop systems placed in the upper courses of pavement. Again, the cameras are more reliable, less maintenance and with a properly designed traffic flow study, will ease the flow of traffic, which will decrease congestion and reduce the stop/start effect on pavement.

The costs to resignal an intersection with a basic closed-loop system and LED signals is approx. $75,000. These costs are offset by the energy savings of the LED lights and decreased maintenance. It is estimated the systems pay for themselves in approximately 5-7 years.

Will these measures save enough money to make up for the loss of revenue due to declining gas sales? Hell No! But they will decrease the amount of money out of our pockets needed to fill the expected $134 billion need in 2017.