Republicans consider the unthinkable: A gas tax increase to pay for infrastructure

[txradioguy]

More proof that there is nothing but a giant uniparty in D.C.

This is throwing more money after the trillions already spent on "infrastructure that's now become part of the permanent budget figures back in 2013 or so.

How about we find out what happened to those trillions of dollars and why they didn't fix our "crumbling infrastructure" before we toss more billions on yet another FDT style WPA.

[kevindavis007]

The decaying roads and infrastructure is mostly in your dem contolled Sh*thole states in the North and midwest.  Places where money is mismanaged or funneled to welfare programs and such.  Don't tax me to pay for a problem 800 miles away.

That is true.. The reality is this, when they get the funds for roads, they tend to spend it elsewhere, like on Bike paths. Also, a lot of contractors tend to take their sweet ass time completing the project too.

[Applewood]

@txradioguy

And yet, I still keep hearing I have to vote Republican in order to "save us" from the Democrats. 

When someone can adequately explain the difference between the two parties, maybe I'll listen.  But I don't see a difference.  There isn't one and probably hasn't been for decades.

[edpc]

@txradioguy

And yet, I still keep hearing I have to vote Republican in order to "save us" from the Democrats. 

When someone can adequately explain the difference between the two parties, maybe I'll listen.  But I don't see a difference.  There isn't one and probably hasn't been for decades.

One wants to sprint over the fiscal cliff, the other just wants a leisurely stroll.

[INVAR]

Makes sense to me.   ....The federal gas tax is a simple and fair way to get the revenue needed.

Of course it does. 

To a liberal Socialist such as yourself - every single thing we expect from Democrat Socialists, comes right out of your fingertips to be promoted on a Conservative web forum while you insist that you are a Conservative yourself.

You are nothing of the kind.   We already know you are pro-abortion, anti-gun, Pro-Obamacare and pro-homosexuality - we once again have yet another example of the fact you sir, are absolutely NO Conservative, as you reveal you are also pro-tax for the big government you want to empower.

You are a liberal Socialist Democrat at best.

[Emjay]

"We are not in favor of a gasoline tax to pay for infrastructure spending,” said David Dziok, a spokesman for Koch Industries. “Doing so would weaken the benefits of comprehensive tax reform by forcing Americans to pay more at the pump. Even worse, it’d be a regressive tax that would hit lower-and middle-income families who pay a higher proportion of their income on energy costs.”


That's all you needed to know, right there.  Big money GOP donors don't want something - it won't happen.

It's not so much that the Koch Brothers don't like it, it's that what they say is true  It is a  regressive tax that would hit lower-and middle-income families who pay a higher proportion of their income on energy costs.”

Not a good idea.

[Emjay]

Just when I start to warm up to the GOP again, they pass a massive spending bill, and start talking about raising taxes.

In the meantime, its been 13 months. No wall yet and Hillary runs free.

Well, she limps free.

[Emjay]

Why not cut spending instead?

That is a better idea.  I strolled over to TOS yesterday because I like to read the Sunday Morning Talk Show thread.  They are not thrilled.  Even Bray, reliable Trump supporter, is ticked off at Trump for supporting the Tax bill with such a high limit on spending.

This would not warm anyone's hearts.  If we expect people to go to work, we should not make it to expensive for them to get there.

[Emjay]

Japan also has far less surface area (a tenth of what the U.S. has) and a much higher population density. They're able to do much more with less.

Exactly what I was thinking.  The U.S. is big.  Texas is big.  Commutes are long.  Don't like it.

[edpc]

It's not so much that the Koch Brothers don't like it, it's that what they say is true  It is a  regressive tax that would hit lower-and middle-income families who pay a higher proportion of their income on energy costs.”

Not a good idea.

It's nice to know they care.  However, they're heavily involved in the energy sector, so don't think they're awash in altruism.  They also weren't happy with campaign positions on immigration.  They like access to cheap labor.  Notice how the timing went on events here:

Jan 5 - Trump meets with GOP members at Camp David

Jan 16 - Gen Kelly says Trump was not 'fully informed' on immigration during campaign and has gone through an 'evolutionary process.'

Jan 26 - Koch brothers announce increased donations and go 'all in' for 2018.

Don't be fooled as to who calls the shots and has power in DC.  We were told during the inauguration the power was finally back in the hands of the people.  It has been and still is in the grip of big money donors on both sides.

[Emjay]

It's nice to know they care.  However, they're heavily involved in the energy sector, so don't think they're awash in altruism.  They also weren't happy with campaign positions on immigration.  They like access to cheap labor.  Notice how the timing went on events here:

Jan 5 - Trump meets with GOP members at Camp David

Jan 16 - Gen Kelly says Trump was not 'fully informed' on immigration during campaign and has gone through an 'evolutionary process.'

Jan 26 - Koch brothers announce increased donations and go 'all in' for 2018.

Don't be fooled as to who calls the shots and has power in DC.  We were told during the inauguration the power was finally back in the hands of the people.  It has been and still is in the grip of big money donors on both sides.

I don't care.

[Emjay]

I'm not interested in some convoluted conspiracy theory involving the Koch Brothers or anyone else.

The Koch Brothers made a sensible statement about the downside of raising gas taxes.

[edpc]

It's neither convoluted, nor conspiratorial. People who donate large amounts of money in politics expect certain things to happen.  None of the money pouring into the Clinton Foundation was for selfless reasons.  They wanted and expected something in return, but their candidate lost the race.

[Free Vulcan]

Give me a federal budget not full of pork and bennies and then talk about a gas tax for infrastructure.

[Jazzhead]

Of course it does. 

To a liberal Socialist such as yourself - every single thing we expect from Democrat Socialists, comes right out of your fingertips to be promoted on a Conservative web forum while you insist that you are a Conservative yourself.

You are nothing of the kind.   We already know you are pro-abortion, anti-gun, Pro-Obamacare and pro-homosexuality - we once again have yet another example of the fact you sir, are absolutely NO Conservative, as you reveal you are also pro-tax for the big government you want to empower.

You are a liberal Socialist Democrat at best.

Oh, shut up. 

If the government is determined to spend billions on repairing infrastructure,  then it should pay for it.   

Paying one's debts is eminently conservative.    Passing on trillions in deficits to paid for by our kids is irresponsible.   

[txradioguy]

If the government is determined to spend billions on repairing infrastructure,  then it should pay for it. 

It can't pay for everything they are throwing money at right now.

How many more billions should they toss into "shovel ready jobs" before we realize the funds aren't going where they need to go?

Paying one's debts is eminently conservative.    Passing on trillions in deficits to paid for by our kids is irresponsible.   

And yet you support this boondoggle.

Ever hear the term taxiation without representation?

[INVAR]

And yet, I still keep hearing I have to vote Republican in order to "save us" from the Democrats. 

That is all the Oligarchy party hacks and Plantation slaves have to get anyone to vote for their arm of the Uniparty: intimidation.  "Vote for our guy because the other guy is worse and you will be a traitor if you don't and will be counted among the enemy when the time comes".

Based on the fruits of the last 8 years - there isn't a lick's worth of difference between a Democrat or a Republican except in how fast one wants us to arrive at full Socialism/Communism.  Both parties are marching to that same destination, one just wants to get there via hyperspace and the other via an afternoon drive. The end result desired is the same from both parties.

When someone can adequately explain the difference between the two parties, maybe I'll listen. 

They will throw Gorsuch in your face and the "tax cuts" and all the other smoke and mirrors they insist  showcase the difference.  Or they will simply state that if you cannot see the difference, you are a dumbsh*t.

But I don't see a difference.  There isn't one and probably hasn't been for decades.

Neither do I.

There is no opposition party to the Democrat Socialists/Marxists.  They are all one big Oligarchy working together for the greater growth of all-encompassing Government rule.

All-the-while the GOP voter base is stuck in a circle of Normalcy Bias running on the fuel of Cognitive Dissonance - even when their own party's contempt for Conservatives and their principles has smacked them clear in the face, over and over and over and over again.

[edpc]

And now this.....

Trump's $4.4 trillion budget moves deficit sharply higher

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trumps-4-trillion-budget-helps-062340996.html?.tsrc=bell-brknews

[txradioguy]

Congress scored the first of what could be a series of bipartisan year-end victories late Thursday night with the final passage of a $305 billion measure to fund roads, bridges, and rail lines.

The five-year infrastructure bill is the longest reauthorization of federal transportation programs that Congress has approved in more than a decade, ending an era of stopgap bills and half-measures that left the Highway Trust Fund nearly broke and frustrated local governments and business groups. President Obama will sign the bill into law, as it fulfills his long-running push for lawmakers to pass an infrastructure bill even though it is significantly less than the $478 billion he sought in his own plan earlier this year.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/a-major-infrastructure-bill-clears-congress/418827/

Combine that with the $103 Billion that was tucked away into the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and there's Half a trillion dollars for "infratstucture" that still being funded through next year!

You'd think with that kind of money already expended we'd have the finest road system in the world.

No not another damn federal dime on this crap until the money already allocated is tracked down and spent properly.

Right now it looks like the Congress Critter's want to turn the entirety of the U.S. interstate system into a bigger version of Boston's Big Dig.

[kevindavis007]

I also think that those who drive electric cars should start paying a tax.

[roamer_1]

That is true.. The reality is this, when they get the funds for roads, they tend to spend it elsewhere, like on Bike paths. Also, a lot of contractors tend to take their sweet ass time completing the project too.

And road jobs, at least around here, always pay union scale. Bank for me, as a painter at the time. my bids were easy 4x higher because of that requirement.

[INVAR]

Oh, shut up.

Again, I invite you to make the attempt to do so.

If the government is determined to spend billions on repairing infrastructure,  then it should pay for it.   

Government doesn't pay for jack shit.  The taxpayers like me, pay for it.

And no... this government beast does not represent me or the taxpayer.  It represents only itself.

Paying one's debts is eminently conservative.   

The government's trillions and trillions of dollars in debt is not a debt I have incurred.  Your Socialist Comrades in the Big Government Oligarchy have incurred that debt to ensconce themselves into permanent power and choose corporate winners and losers at the behest of donors and lobbyists. 

Where's the 800-billion plus dollars Obama raised in his infamous 'American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009' to pay for road and bridges infrastructure???

Less than ten years later Trump needs another Trillion to do the same damn thing???

Like I will tell your political counterparts in the Oligarchy - how stupid do you think we are?

Passing on trillions in deficits to paid for by our kids is irresponsible.   

And yet this is exactly what you champion, because morons like you keep wanting government to spend more than they take in via tax revenue.

[INVAR]

The sooner we get government out of life management, the better.  Probably won't happen in my lifetime.

No. It will likely never happen.

Because that will require a shooting war to achieve.

[txradioguy]

I also think that those who drive electric cars should start paying a tax.

If the few people driving electric cars didn't get the tax kickbacks they do...no one would buy them.

[kevindavis007]

If the few people driving electric cars didn't get the tax kickbacks they do...no one would buy them.

Oh well..