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  • From: "Common Sense Foundation" <david@common-sense.org>
  • To: <common-sense@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Consider This: Gas Tax Non-Crisis
  • Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2006 17:03:11 -0500

Title: Gas Tax Non-Crisis

The COMMON SENSE Foundation

Consider This…

GAS TAX NON-CRISIS

Which amount of money is larger: two cents or $36 billion?

Some N.C. Republicans would have you believe that the first number is a bigger problem. Theyre raising a ruckus about the state gas tax, which consists in part of a percentage levy on the wholesale price of gasoline.

As anyone not living on the moon knows, gas prices soared in 2005, increasing N.C. gas taxes automatically along with them. But the total increase doesnt amount to more than two cents per gallon.

These gas Cassandras are calling for a special legislative session: not to address the states human services crisis, but to repeal the gas tax. They have yet to explain how they would then pay for maintaining and improving the states highways, which is what the gas tax is designed to do.

No, instead of solving real problems, the gas Cassandras are making noise and causing distractions, pointing to a longtime diversion of state money from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund to replace the state sales tax on cars, which was in turn moved to the Highway Trust Fund. This is just accounting, and its been going on for 20 years; theres no there there.

What about the $36 billion? Thats the 2005 profit reported by Exxon/Mobil, the largest corporate profit in the long history of American capitalism. Thats a profit made on the backs of every citizen and small business struggling to afford higher fuel prices.

Corporate price-gouging has produced the problem of high gas prices (and in turn higher gas taxes). Look at the $36 billion before you whine about the two cents. Theres no reason to punish the states roads (and drivers) for corporate greed.

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  • Consider This: Gas Tax Non-Crisis, Common Sense Foundation, 02/03/2006

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