Brad's Bunker

By Brad Lawrence

THE BUNKER INDEX

Gas Tax

_{March 10, 2006}

I was thinking how wonderful it would be if this were still a country as envisioned by the founding fathers. A president and congress who were elected not to line their pockets but to actually do what's right for their respective states, and the country as a whole. A government which would stay out of the states hair unless a vilolation of federal law were actually committed. A government which wouldn't tax us to death, regulate our hinies off, and control every thing we as states do. And now we as individuals do as well.

Take the federal gas tax for example. It was designed to provide and maintain an inter-state freeway system which we now enjoy.

It was a successful project and a tribute to what government can do if it puts it's mind to it. The Interstate system began in 1956 and has since been relegated to the states to maintain and plan.

And though the states have been doing the job for years, the Feds still collect their 18.4 cents per gallon of gas pumped. This is now a huge slush fund, of which they generously allow a rebate of some of back to the states to be used supposedly for the freeways. The rest is distributed to those politically powerful or friendly to the current administration to be used on whatever pet project they have in mind.

Like Alaska's bridges to nowhere scam, which, because of the bad press, has been thankfully stopped. But the money for Alaska's Congressman Don Young was still received, he just has to find some other boondoggle to spend it on. It's no coincidence, by the way, that Congressman Young is a republican.

So there goes 200 million of your tax dollars down the, er, Pelican's Brief you might say.

If the tax were to be kept by Nevada, and not the Feds, then we would have all the benefit of the tax money (it might even be lowered if the state didn't need it all, I know, I know, a pipe dream, but in theory it could) which would lower the price per gallon; the Feds couldn't use the money for blackmail purposes (which it does, as in you'll get X amount if you agree to these federal guidelines but you'll get squat if you don't); and there'll be no gas tax federal slush fund which would increase the states control over it's destiny instead of bowing and scraping to the feds.

Sounds like a winning proposition for everyone EXCEPT the idiots we have in congress.

Then the states like Nevada (one of the four states which DON'T have a capitol accessed by a freeway) would be able to make more prudent and sane decisions about our state.