The Chicken and the Gas Tax
- Gas taxes subsidize good roads.
- Good roads encourage driving.
- Driving uses more gas.
- Gas prices go up.
- Drivers complain about gas prices.
- Law makers decrease taxes to make drivers pay less for gas.
- Road quality decreases.
- Drivers complain about roads in poor condition.
- Law makers increase gas taxes to improve roads.
"The average gas price in Pennsylvania now stands at $2.94. The national average is $2.90. Some argue that lowering the state's 30-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline would help alleviate the price at the pump, but Rendell said that would take about $300 million away from the state's transportation needs" (WGAL.com).
And tonight I paid $2.95/gallon to tank up. That's six-cents more per gallon than it was fewer than 12 hours before. I knew I should have invested in a hybrid car last year. Or at least tanked up this morning.