States Find Gas Tax Increases Still Not Paying for Infrastructure Funding

For Construction Pros ^ | October 17, 2019 | Jessica Lombardo

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

For more than 25 years, the Federal government has let the Highway Trust Fund, the source of money for Federal infrastructure projects, lose it's purchasing power. That's because the gas tax has been stuck at 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents for diesel fuel since 1993.

While construction costs have increased 125% since 2003, funding has not. Instead of waiting for Washington to get it together, states have taken it upon themselves to fund their own infrastructure projects. Since 2013, 31 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation that will increase or may increase overall state gas taxes. However, passing a gas tax increase is not an easy task, and even states that have done it successfully are finding they still don't have enough money to pay for the projects they need done.

South Carolina is just one example. In 2017, it passed a 12-cent per gallon gas tax increase which was less than what was initially proposed but a compromise to get the legislation passed. Legislators were warned when they passed the 2017 compromise, the first increase in 30 years, that the 12-cents per gallon hike and other vehicle fees weren’t enough to fix the state’s entire road system, the nation’s fourth largest, and they are now realizing that was true.

A Senate panel has now been created to explore how to step up widening projects on the worst stretches of congestion, potentially sparking another years-long debate over road funding.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[EvilCapitalist]

If our corrupt politicians kept their fingers out of the pot, the gas taxes would pay for everything.

[stubernx98]

Allow the $ to be used only by non union construction companies

[cgbg]

How much gas tax money has been diverted for subways, “green” buses and trains to nowhere?

[Balding_Eagle]

Gas taxes are used for everything but roads.

The drivers money is used for bike paths, light rail, operators to drive the empty light rail trains around town, parks, and most of all, to make sure pensions are funded.

[T. P. Pole]

How about fewer bike lanes?

[sheehan]

plenty of money... corrupt state gov’ts requiring prevailing wage for their union donors, along with spending on non-roads/highway projects (public buses, light rail boondoggles)

[mewzilla]

It’s being diverted to cover Medicaid costs, public employees’ salaries, pensions, and health bennies.

[fruser1]

That’s because 90% of it pays the employees with their lavish benefits and pensions.

[fproy2222]

And they make me use less gas per mile.

[Parmy]

Precisely!!

[SpaceBar]

“Infrastructure” is code for more pay and funding cushy over extended retirement packages.

[combat_boots]

So, bring on the dancing goats. Maybe they can help out.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dancing+goats&atb=v110-5_h&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=_15Al8VKINU

[Grampa Dave]

Both of you are correct. Gas taxes in most states/counties/cities just raise money for SJW bs, not roads.

How much gas tax money has been diverted for subways, “green” buses and trains to nowhere?

5 posted on 11/9/2019, 2:04:25 PM by cgbg (The Democratic Party is morphing into the Donner Party)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Gas taxes are used for everything but roads.

The drivers money is used for bike paths, light rail, operators to drive the empty light rail trains around town, parks, and most of all, to make sure pensions are funded.

6 posted on 11/9/2019, 2:06:28 PM by Balding_Eagle

[jcon40]

A Laborer gets $52.08 per hr. Base pay in the Los Angeles Area

https://donahoo.com/understanding-wage-rates-californias-prevailing-wage-law/

[MNJohnnie]

Lie. Increased economic activity increases amount paid in taxes. The problem is they spend far faster then income comes in. If you increase the tax, still will not close the gap in the rate of growth in spending

Three things wrong with infrastructure in this country

Massive waste on absurd frills and over designed infrastructure. You really do not need decorative art work on an interstate bridge etc.

Too much bureaucracy. If you ran a private charity with the sort of wasteful bureaucracy overhead the government manages infrastructure, you would be in jail

Diversion of funds to wasteflu political boondoggles like “rails to trails” or “high speed rail”

We don't need more taxing, we need better control of the spending

[SkyDancer]

They siphon money from road projects on to other social things like bike paths, LGTB colored crosswalks, etc then complain no money for roads which was the intent of the taxes in the first place; Idea!! Raise gas taxes, that should take care of it although meanwhile, over here ....

[Lockbox]

1. Number of cars increased from 198 million in 1993 to 272 million in 2017. https://www.statista.com/statistics/183505/number-of-vehicles-in-the-united-states-since-1990/

2. Number of miles driven increased from 2 trillion in 1993 to over 3 trillion in 2018. https://afdc.energy.gov/data/mobile/10315

3. Fuel usage in 1993 was 693 gallons per vehicle to in 2010 678 gallons per vehicle. https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/showtext.php?t=ptb0208

Cars and miles driven are up but gallons of fuel used is down slightly. So 50% more cars, 35% more miles and a 4% drop in gallons used. I think there is a leak somewhere? A funding leak! Is money going to non road projects?

In California...From 2007 to 2010, $1.3 billion in transportation funds was spent not to build or repair state roads but to finance other programs that were apparently more politically rewarding (i.e., generated more votes) than fixing bridges and filling potholes. https://fee.org/articles/californias-soaring-gas-taxes-arent-even-going-to-the-roads/

[abb]

Or, hire more deadheads for the highway department. The ones you see from coast to coat leaning on their shovels.