Road taxes shows differences in 42nd District race

The Argus has a story about the roads, gas taxes and the candidates for the 42nd District here in Livingston County.

Not surprisingly, I highly disagree with one of them regarding the gas tax. There's been a militant push among many in the media and political class supporting the gas tax going back to 2007. It has taken seven years and luckily it still had not increased over the 36-40 cents it is currently (depending on price at the pump).

Perlberg said the state must address two decades of neglect of Michigan’s roads.
Lawmakers continue to seek another $1.2 billion in annual road funding.
“I would achieve that with a combination of increased gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. That could be tempered in the future if we have sustained economic growth, which will produce additional dollars into our general fund,” he said at the recent forum.

I'll give Rich Perlberg credit for being out and open about his support for this. It's certainly not going to be a popular answer. Considering we have the 6th highest gas tax in the country, it shouldn't be a popular answer.

Lana Theis had this.

Brighton Township Treasurer Lana Theis, also a GOP contender for the House seat, said capturing 25 percent of annual state budget increases could fill the funding gap.Theis said her idea would have captured a total of roughly $1 billion between the 2010 and 2014 budget years.

“The problem is not that we’re not taking enough money. It’s that we’re not spending the money in the right place,” Theis said at the Daily Press & Argus candidate forum.“Until they prove to me that they’re spending all of the money that we take at the pump on the roads, I don’t even want to discuss a tax increase,” Theis added.

Nick Fiani had this

Nick Fiani, president of the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education and a GOP House candidate, said the state should strictly dedicate gas taxes, the state’s sales tax on gas, and vehicle registration fees to roads.
Dedicating the sales tax on gasoline to roads would involve voter approval because it would require a constitutional amendment. Without increasing the sales tax, it also would mean schools and local governments would lose funding they currently rely on.
Fiani said road funding could also receive a boost through repealing Michigan’s prevailing-wage law on public construction projects and through more competitive bidding on projects.
He said his overall plan would create between $750 million and nearly $1 billion each year in extra road funding.
“There is absolutely no need to raise taxes to fix Michigan roads. If the state and the government would utilize the proper and appropriate streams of revenue toward the appropriate expenditures, a solution could be (found),” he said.

Dale Rogers had this

GOP House candidate Dale Rogers, a Novi High School vocational teacher, called for a bipartisan commission to review state spending.
Rogers said a starting point could be axing tax-incentive programs.
For the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the state’s economic development incentives will be funded at $130 million, and the state’s filmmaking incentives at $50 million, according to state figures.
If the appropriated $180 million in incentives went to roads, that would still be $1.02 billion short of Snyder’s figure.
Most of the business incentives are scheduled to expire, but with program dollars intended to fill a revenue gap created by ending the personal-property tax on business equipment.
Rogers said the panel also could consider slashing a portion of state Department of Corrections funding, set at $2.04 billion for 2015.

I also saw this quote which tells me many of the same problems at the heart of every budget issue is still around.  

But only about $10 billion of next year’s $52 billion budget is state money. The remaining $42 billion is federal money, none of which can be redirected for other uses, explained David Murray, Snyder’s deputy press secretary.Murray said state general fund revenue increased about $1.1 billion from 2012 to next year’s budget, however.

I have a hard time believing that the $42 billion is federal money. He's confusing "state money" with earmarked money.  Some money is earmarked due to federal strings attached (matching funds, etc) and some is due to the State Constitution provision. It would take an amendment to change some of those. It's also something that needs to be looked at. If 82% of the budget can't be touched, than the legislature and governor has a real hard time doing its job properly. Until more than 8-10 billion can be adjusted, we'll always have budgetary problems in this state.  It's a structural issue that goes back to before Engler. Open up the whole damn thing and fix it. Don't give us another tax.

I'm not on board with this

Disclaimer - This is my own opinion and not LCRP's opinion. 

It looks like the infamous gas tax plans are DOA for now. However, there's more taxes being discussed.

From the Argus

LANSING — Legislative leaders are getting closer to a deal that would raise $1.2 billion a year needed to fix Michigan’s crumbling roads — but it could mean a hike in the state’s 6 percent sales tax.
Voters could be asked, probably next year, to support an increased sales tax. The plan that seems to be getting the most traction would ask voters to raise the sales tax to 7 percent and revise how the increased revenue is spent.
The top Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature — the Senate’s majority and minority leaders, Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, and Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, and House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, and House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills — have been meeting with Gov. Rick Snyder to come up with a plan to fix the state’s roads.
Snyder’s proposal to raise registration fees and gas taxes was “a nonstarter,” Richardville said Wednesday.
“We didn’t want to touch registration fees or raise the amount that people pay at the gas pump. That’s crazy,” he said.
Currently, the 6 percent sales tax on gasoline purchases raises about $1.2 billion and goes mostly toward schools and cities. Under the new plan, roads would get $1.2 billion, and the increased revenues from a higher across-the-board sales tax would go toward schools and cities.
“Speaker Bolger wants to fix the problem of taxes paid at the pump not all going to roads but doesn’t want to solve one problem by creating another,” said Ari Adler, spokesman for Bolger. “That’s why he is open to ideas on how to address money for schools and local governments through a change in the sales tax.”
The Legislature would vote to put it on the ballot, although two-thirds majorities in the Legislature must agree to put a tax increase on the next statewide ballot. That would take lawmakers off the hook for voting for a tax increase.

While I'm not opposed to putting all of the gas tax to roads, government has not earned more money to spend period. No more tax increases.

Heads up this lame duck for gas tax increases and vehicle registration hikes

I'm hearing there is high potential of movement on this issue in the lame duck. Gas tax especially. This one pisses me off, and I'm not going to be very forgiving about it, at least on a professional and political basis. 

Once again. Don't blame me. I voted for Mike Cox. I voted for Prop 5. I'll vote for any reasonable or even semi-reasonable primary challenger to Snyder in a New York Minute especially if the democrat is beatable. One of the biggest reasons I voted for Proposal 5 is to put in the check the absolute cultist jihad among the Lansing elite in the dogmatic pursuit to raise the gas tax. This is shared by the tax raising Rick Snyder who is so brazen about this that he mentioned his support in September of this year soon before the election. It's not just Snyder either.

Of course there's no push to get rid of the sales tax on gasoline. This is another attempt by big government to be afraid of handling REAL budget issues and stop compartmentalizing different areas, and to instead ask - no demand - than we bail out the government's screw ups. This is all based on the false premis that the gas tax/registrations - and ONLY the gas tax/registrations can pay for roads. The transportation budget isn't just roads either, but WALLY trains.

From Bridge Magazine

Defeat of Proposal 5 means a simple legislative majority remains the threshold for statewide tax increases, perhaps opening the door to revision of the gas tax.

Did I call this or what.September - 41 cent gas tax isn't good enough for Rick Snyder

The bad news is that unless the 2/3 proposal passes, eventually this tax increase will pass, likely in a lame duck session. When I don't know, but there's too much of a sustained Lansing insider push from the government class. Click on the gas tax label on the blog and you'll see a ton of it, largely from termed out legislators, road lobbyists, and local governments. It's not just democrats either, but insider republicans (although definitely not a conservative) like Ken Sikkema who gave Granholm almost everything she wanted in her first term. Right now a lot of legislators are scared of this and rightly so, but this could kill us in a lame duck at some point, especially if the governor is also in lame duck.

This is a big reason why the 2/3rd amendment has to pass. It would have stopped the Blanchard, Granholm, and Snyder taxes that have been passed. It can also stop the gas tax increases whether it is pushed by Granholm, Snyder, or whoever is there in the future. The legislature does not always check and balance the governor who is mistakenly viewed as the leader of the party. Vote yes on Proposal 5.

Snyder wants this. Badly. Of course he can afford this unlike many of us. These high prices absolutely KILLED US (makes hammerfist and slams desk) in 2006 and most of 2008. We hit $4+ again this year. It's still over $3.50. At $4.10, 41 cents of every gallon goes to "With Republicans like him, who needs democrats" Rick Snyder. Right now it's about 37 cents.

As I explained about how bad this was with Snyder back in 2011.

There's three things wrong with the wholesale taxes.

1. Taxes go up even more when gas prices increase. That encourages higher gas prices to be even higher. We're almost $3.50 a gallon. That's damaging to any supposed recovery.

2. This does not address the 6% sales tax on gasoline - that does not go to roads. This will affect things more with a wholesale tax.

3. It continues the false assumption that the gas tax, and only the gas tax, goes to fix the roads.

4. While the non-sales tax portion of the gas tax goes to transportation, that does not necessarily equal roads.

I've covered this issue more times than Matt Millen has lost games as a GM. This is the worst tax in the country, outside of possibly the self-employment tax.

Transportation doesn't necessarily equal roads either. Snyder also wants $120+ a year in registration fee increases as well to add insult to injury. He likes the WALLY type trains as well. You got to be shitting me.

Well if they vote for this, well, six months during the term for those who aren't lame duck, the recall option  - yes recall option - is open. 1984 style. Paul Scott  was recalled, and replaced by a Republican, so there is precedent of Republicans replacing Republicans in recalls if this is necessary, let alone the democrats. For those who are two year lame ducks and have higher office aspirations, they can get recalled and their push for higher office can be gone for good. Too bad Mark Schauer didn't get recalled as he was running against Walberg in 2008. That two years he was in Congress gave us Cap and Destroy and Obamacare.

Here's the statute.

168.951 Officers subject to recall; time for filing recall petition; performance of duties until result of recall election certified.
Sec. 951.
Every elective officer in the state, except a judicial officer, is subject to recall by the voters of the electoral district in which the officer is elected as provided in this chapter. A petition shall not be filed against an officer until the officer has actually performed the duties of the office to which elected for a period of 6 months during the current term of that office. A petition shall not be filed against an officer during the last 6 months of the officer's term of office. An officer sought to be recalled shall continue to perform duties of the office until the result of the recall election is certified.


This is also important to remember:
168.952 Recall petitions; requirements; submission to board of county election commissioners; determination; notice; meeting; presentation of arguments; appeal; validity of petition.
Sec. 952.
(1) A petition for the recall of an officer shall meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Comply with section 544c(1) and (2).
(b) Be printed.
(c) State clearly each reason for the recall. Each reason for the recall shall be based upon the officer's conduct during his or her current term of office. The reason for the recall may be typewritten.
(d) Contain a certificate of the circulator. The certificate of the circulator may be printed on the reverse side of the petition.
(e) Be in a form prescribed by the secretary of state.
(2) Before being circulated, a petition for the recall of an officer shall be submitted to the board of county election commissioners of the county in which the officer whose recall is sought resides.
(3) The board of county election commissioners, not less than 10 days or more than 20 days after submission to it of a petition for the recall of an officer, shall meet and shall determine whether each reason for the recall stated in the petition is of sufficient clarity to enable the officer whose recall is sought and the electors to identify the course of conduct that is the basis for the recall. Failure of the board of county election commissioners to comply with this subsection shall constitute a determination that each reason for the recall stated in the petition is of sufficient clarity to enable the officer whose recall is being sought and the electors to identify the course of conduct that is the basis for the recall.
(4) The board of county election commissioners, not later than 24 hours after receipt of a petition for the recall of an officer, shall notify the officer whose recall is sought of each reason stated in the petition and of the date of the meeting of the board of county election commissioners to consider the clarity of each reason.
(5) The officer whose recall is sought and the sponsors of the petition may appear at the meeting and present arguments on the clarity of each reason.
(6) The determination by the board of county election commissioners may be appealed by the officer whose recall is sought or by the sponsors of the petition drive to the circuit court in the county. The appeal shall be filed not more than 10 days after the determination of the board of county election commissioners.
(7) A petition that is determined to be of sufficient clarity under subsection (1) or, if the determination under subsection (1) is appealed pursuant to subsection (6), a petition that is determined by the circuit court to be of sufficient clarity is valid for 180 days following the last determination of sufficient clarity under this section. A recall petition that is filed under section 959 or 960 after the 180-day period described in this subsection is not valid and shall not be accepted pursuant to section 961. This subsection does not prohibit a person from resubmitting a recall petition for a determination of sufficient clarity under this section.

History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955 ;-- Am. 1976, Act 66, Imd. Eff. Apr. 2, 1976 ;-- Am. 1982, Act 456, Imd. Eff. Dec. 30, 1982 ;-- Am. 1993, Act 45, Imd. Eff. May 27, 1993 ;-- Am. 1993, Act 137, Eff. Jan. 1, 1994
Popular Name: Election Code


If they vote for this, we can't use this as the "official" reason to recall someone - at least in the state house because it is in a different term of office. However, someone can be recalled for ANY reason as long as it is clear. Find a vote from the first six months in that current term, and use that as the "official" reason. The unoffical reason can be the vote to increase the gas taxes. There is nothing that stops those supporting the recall of State Rep John Doe from broadcasting his vote for the gas tax increases. Recall campaigns are campaigns like any other campaign. It is a check and balance on this lame duck and right after the election gamesmanship that politicians like to play because they can get away with it.

The House and Senate has a choice. They can LEAD, or they can be followers and yesmen because the Lansing culture pushes that. They were followers and yesmen over the pension tax and didn't do the right thing. They need to do the right thing this time and dictate to Snyder that he's the executive director of Michigan and not the boss.

On the same note, we need to remember those with courage to tell Snyder not to even think about this tax and vote against it if it gets to that point. I remember the votes of  Jack Brandenburg, Dave Hildenbrand, Joe Hune, Rick Jones, David Robertson, Tory Rocca, Anthony Forlini, Ken Goike, Pat Somerville, Rick Outman, Pete Lund, and Andrea LaFontaine when it came to the pension tax. They did the right thing and voted against it. We need more of that here with the gas tax.

While Clint Eastwood's RNC speech wasn't the best, one line was perfect. Politicians are our employees. It is best that they remember this. If not now, in the 2012 primaries or recalls if necessary. .

41 cent gas tax isn't good enough for Rick Snyder - Another reason to vote for Proposal 5 (2/3rd)

When are the 2014 primaries starting again? Rick Snyder needs a primary challenger. He's killing us and our party (and I don't think he's really a Republican to begin with, just a technocrat). I think he's hurting Romney as well. It's always been one step forward and two steps back with this guy. He vetoed the election reforms, and now he's on record - again - for yet another tax increase. Jennifer Granholm was the Matt Millen of Governors, and when it comes to taxes, Snyder is little to no different. Increase them. With Republicans like Snyder, we don't need democrats.

The chattering and government classes in Lansing have long been on a jihad to increase the gas tax and registration fees. That hasn't changed and it has flared up again. From Mlive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Votes cast at the West Michigan Policy Forum identified improved transportation infrastructure as the gathering’s second most important priority.
Gov. Rick Snyder touched on that topic and more during a Thursday question-and-answer session that concluded the two-day event.
He compared raising Michigan’s gas tax and vehicle registration fees to getting an oil change on a new car.
“If you don’t make that investment (in an oil change), how much money is it going to cost you to replace an engine?" Snyder said. "This isn't any different.
“Too often we look at the public sector as a cash-in-cash-out thing. Over a 30-year time period, I think we’re saving money (by raising the gas tax and vehicle registration fees). It’s actually a reduction of cost.


Hey Rick, how much of that current "oil change" is leaked out by the system's piss poor diversion. When over half of the "oil" doesn't go into the engine, it's a Fubarred system. 

This is nothing new with Snyder. He pushed this back in 2011. I've long opposed an increase on the gas tax when it is one of the highest in the country, and gets higher as prices increase. 

Gas Prices are around $4, more in Livingston County. I recently saw it at $4.10 in Brighton. At $4.10, 41 cents for each gallon goes to the State of Michigan. That's not including the federal gas tax which is 18 1/2 cents. 59 cents of every gallon is taxed by government. That increases transportation costs, as well as shipping costs for food and every other item out there that is transported by truck or ship.

If you want more money for infrastructure, get the sales tax off of gasoline. That's 22 cents a gallon that goes to the state and does not go towards transportation. In addition, have the transportation money to to roads and not some BS boondoggles like the WALLY train. The problem is tunnel vision by the government insider class in Lansing who believe the false premise that the gas tax - and only the gas tax - can go to transportation. It's bad thinking. It's incorrect. It needs to change. 

The bad news is that unless the 2/3 proposal passes, eventually this tax increase will pass, likely in a lame duck session. When I don't know, but there's too much of a sustained Lansing insider push from the government class. Click on the gas tax label on the blog and you'll see a ton of it, largely from termed out legislators, road lobbyists, and local governments. It's not just democrats either, but insider republicans (although definitely not a conservative) like Ken Sikkema who gave Granholm almost everything she wanted in her first term. Right now a lot of legislators are scared of this and rightly so, but this could kill us in a lame duck at some point, especially if the governor is also in lame duck. 

This is a big reason why the 2/3rd amendment has to pass. It would have stopped the Blanchard, Granholm, and Snyder taxes that have been passed. It can also stop the gas tax increases whether it is pushed by Granholm, Snyder, or whoever is there in the future. The legislature does not always check and balance the governor who is mistakenly viewed as the leader of the party. Vote yes on Proposal 5.

Rick Snyder wants a gas tax and registration increase

Just when I was about to ease up on Snyder after he signed the partial birth abortion ban, he goes leftist again. Apparently the new money from the income taxes and pension taxes are not enough for technocrat Rick Michigan.

From the Detroit news

Lansing— Michigan would fundamentally alter the way it raises money to pay for repairs to the state's roads and bridges under a sweeping proposal expected to be unveiled today by Gov. Rick Snyder.

He's expected to suggest getting rid of the 19-cent gas tax motorists pay at the pump in favor of a tax on the wholesale price of fuel — a move expected to bring in more funds to fix roads and bridges as inflation pushes up the price of gasoline and diesel fuel.

First off, we don't have a 19 cent gas tax. If you want to see me get red in the face, keep repeating that lie, damn lie, and statistic. I've covered it before, but here's how it works. Right now, the Michigan Gas Tax in Hamburg Township, Michigan is 37 cents. The final price when I was last at the gas station is $3.45. Of that $3.45 cents, 56 cents in gas taxes goes to the government. 37 cents goes to the State of Michigan. Multiply that by 20 gallons, and the state gets $7.40 cents every time I fill up. When gas prices are at $4.10, the Michigan gas tax is 41 cents.


There's three things wrong with the wholesale taxes.

1. Taxes go up even more when gas prices increase. That encourages higher gas prices to be even higher. We're almost $3.50 a gallon. That's damaging to any supposed recovery.

2. This does not address the 6% sales tax on gasoline - that does not go to roads. This will affect things more with a wholesale tax.

3. It continues the false assumption that the gas tax, and only the gas tax, goes to fix the roads.

4. While the non-sales tax portion of the gas tax goes to transportation, that does not necessarily equal roads.

I've covered this issue more times than Matt Millen has lost games as a GM. This is the worst tax in the country, outside of possibly the self-employment tax.

There's more.

Also as part of his plan, the governor will ask the Legislature to allow counties and regional authorities to levy a vehicle registration fee to raise money for local road projects, sources close to the governor confirmed. The local levy would have to be approved by voters.

More millages. Regional authorities for those that don't know are when a group of municipal governments create a new quasi-governmental body around a governmental function. These can range from parking, fire, library, parks, and other things associated with municipalities.

The two proposals are expected to be part of Snyder's Special Message to the Legislature on Infrastructure at 3 p.m. at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. The plan will lay out Snyder's vision for improving roads and bridges, regional transit, water and sewer lines and Internet access.

Regional transit. New taxes to pay for this..INSTEAD of the roads?

It gets worse. Today's Detroit News has this. This clown thinks I'm made of money

Southfield— Michigan needs another $1.4 billion for roads annually and Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday suggested hiking vehicle registration fees to help come up with the money.

In an address on infrastructure at Lawrence Technological University, the Republican governor said an extra $120 a year — $10 a month — on each registration would raise $1 billion a year. More money could be raised if voters approve allowing counties and regions to assess their own vehicle registration levies of up to $40 annually.

$10 a month. You make it sound like it's not a lot of money, and that pisses me off even more than the push for this. You big government folks are nickle and diming us. Between the pension taxes, this, and Obamacare and debt on the feds, we're getting our asses kicked. I can't afford a $240 annual tags bill - IN ADDITION to all this, and I drive a 10 year old vehicle. Hey, Rick. I don't have the millions you do. That's a lot of money to me.

Among his ideas:

Rapid transit that would connect Detroit with its suburbs, Ann Arbor and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

I thought the ROADS were a problem. You want to RAISE TAXES for that?

A new fiber optic cable across the Mackinac Bridge to increase Internet access in the Upper Peninsula.

I thought the ROADS were a problem. You want to RAISE TAXES for that?

Competitively bidding out maintenance services, engineering or construction of roads.

I can agree with that.

Accessing federal money for dredging ports around the state.

More federal spending of our tax money we don't have.

Helping communities maintain or improve water quality.

That isn't done already?

Giving counties the option to take over their road commissions, or consolidating local commissions. Snyder noted Michigan has 617 independent road agencies and 79 independent transit agencies.

I agree with this.

Here's another danger, and Jace Bolger and Randy Richardville need to get the pressure on them for this in a BIG way. Snyder knows the taxes are unpopular. Just as the pension tax was unpopular. He also knows there are favorite projects of many reps who will pick that poison over the others. All the reps hated the MBT. Many who otherwise would not vote for the pension tax increase, voted for it because it was the price to get rid of the MBT. Few, like Joe Hune said the price wasn't worth it and thought the MBT should be gone period without a replacement. I agreed with Joe.

Snyder is going to want this to be an all or nothing package. However, Snyder can't do that on his own. Jace Bolger and Randy Richardville deserve just as much blame and scorn as Snyder for that pension tax monstrosity. We can not let them do the same thing again. Snyder is governor. He's not prime minister. Hell, I don't think he's even a republican. Why the Hell are you following this guy? His title? We need to make sure that transportation provisions are sent PIECEMEAL to the governor and not as an all or nothing type of scam as the pension tax was.

Worst of all, government hasn't earned the money. Government has shown it can not spend what it has properly. It wants us to bail them out. Again. It's like Granholm never left office.

No new gas taxes. Get rid of the sales tax on gasoline. No new registration fees. No transportation spending on anything but roads.

Don't blame me. I voted for Mike Cox.

Another push to increase Michigan's 34 cent gas tax

I normally agree with the Chamber and personally like a lot of the people there. I also know that many of their members are road builders, and that accounts for their view on this issue, the gas tax. I also disagree with them 100% on this gimmicky, left-wing so called solution to the roads.

From the Free Press

LANSING – Michigan’s crumbling roads and bridges cause traffic congestion that will cost the state 12,000 jobs, and cost $287 for every resident in lost time and wasted fuel, a new study concludes.

That’s about the same amount typical motorists would pay for doubling the state gas tax and vehicle registration fees – a $2.2-billion revenue increase that would pay for a vastly improved highway system, according to the report.

The study by Anderson Economic Group of Lansing was commissioned by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and shows the economic impact of good and bad roads. Chamber president Rich Studley said it’s long past time for state government to boost revenue for roads that are the lifeline of Michigan’s commerce, from manufacturing to tourism to agriculture.

Once again, this whole gas tax push is based on a false premise. The false premise is that only the gas tax can fund roads. Every single so called plan I have seen is based on that false premise. Every single advocacy for the tax is based on that. It's crap. I'm not going to rehash the arguments. I've done that about seven times already and nothing has changed. I last wrote about this in January when Rep. Dick Ball pushed for this

Here's the other write ups I've done on this topic, going back to 2007.

• Transportation tax passes committee - December 2009
• Ken Sikkema pushes for gas tax - August 2009
• Mike Crane pushes for gas tax - June 2009
• Flint Journal - May 2009
• Peter Luke's one of several articles advocating for the gas tax - April 2009
• November 2008 - Lansing insiders
• Granholm and Gilbert - January 2008
• October 2007

The media LIED here.

The study is the latest ammunition for proponents of a gas tax increase, who’ve argued for two years that the state is seriously underfunding its roads. The state for the first time will lose its full allocation of federal aid -- $475 million – because of an $84-million shortfall in its transportation fund, which is fed by the state’s 19-cent-per-gallon gas tax and vehicle registration fees.

The gas tax is NOT 19 cents a gallon. That is bullshit. When I go to the pump, I don't pay 19 cents to the state of Michigan.

Currently, the price is around $2.79 a gallon here. The Michigan taxes on gasoline amount to 34 cents a gallon, at this amount. No, not 19 cents, like the media likes to say. 34 cents. 34 cents of every gallon paid goes to the State of Michigan. That's the tax.

The tax pushers want us to pay 43 cents a gallon, plus more in registration fees. We need to make sure that this push is defeated, and we make proper budget restructuring to fix the roads instead of a BS gimmick based on the false assumption that the gas tax, and only the gas tax, can pay for transportation.

Lansing wants to raise Michigan's 33 cent (not 19) gas tax

If you look at the media and their love of taxes, and not know how it works, you could easily fall for their lie, damn lie, and statistics that the gas tax is 19 cents, and supposedly low. It's not 19cents. That's right. Michigan's gas tax is currently 33 cents.  It's not 19 cents. It's 33, and fluctuates as the price of gas moves. At $2.65 a gallon, which I last saw in Brighton, 33 cents goes to Lansing. That makes the gas tax 33 cents, regardless of any crap that comes from the media.

Lansing and the media always ignores, purposefully in their quest for high taxes and more government, that the gas tax is 33 cents. This is due to bipartisan big government individuals who both have an interested in taking more money from us. The republicans on this side, like Dick Ball and former state senator Ken Sikkema are a major problem and the cause of why we lost our majority in the house. Big government Republicanism is a failure, both on the federal and state level. Nowhere is it worse in Michigan, than on the gas tax.

From the Detroit News

Lansing -- Two state representatives have introduced bills in Lansing that call for an increase of the state tax and both gasoline and diesel fuel.The bills -- sponsored by Rep. Dick Ball, R-Bennington Township, and Pam Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township, call for raising the gas tax incrementally until motorists would eventually be paying 27 cents per gallon for both gasoline and diesel by Jan. 1, 2013. 
Currently, the gas tax is 19 cents per gallon and 15 cents per gallon for diesel.

The gas tax is not 19 cents per gallon. I will repeat that. The gas tax is not 19 cents a gallon. I will say that one more time so the cheap seats can hear it. THE GAS IS NOT 19 CENTS A GALLON! That's only part of the tax, and I will call it out every time I see it.
Final price $2.65.
Minus - 19 cents - $2.46
Other part of Michigan tax - 14 cents in sales tax.
Another 18.5 cents goes to the feds as well.
At $2.65 a gallon, 51.5 cents goes to big government.

The Lansing elite has been trying to push this crap down our throats for years. This is the worst kind of tax. It hits us every time at the pump. It hits us at the grocery story as we pay for more shipping costs. It raises everyone's expenses. Gas prices did tons of damage in 2007 and 2008 to this economy and was part of the straw that broke the camel's back. Here's just a small list:

• Transportation tax passes committee - December 2009
• Ken Sikkema pushes for gas tax - August 2009
• Mike Crane pushes for gas tax - June 2009
• Flint Journal - May 2009
• Peter Luke's one of several articles advocating for the gas tax - April 2009
• November 2008 - Lansing insiders
• Granholm and Gilbert - January 2008
• October 2007

Peter Luke is at it again with his scare tactics yesterday. Same thing that's been said for years.


This is all based on a false premise. The false premise is that only the gas tax can fund roads. Every single so called plan I have seen on that false premise. Every single advocacy for the tax is based on that. It's crap. I'm not going to rehash the arguments. I've done that about six times already and nothing has changed.

Everyone that votes for this tax or advocates for this tax needs to be tossed out of office faster than you can say Martha Coakley. I don't care which party. I don't care if the rep is a friend. Lansing needs to get the message one way or another, and maybe it will have to take some firings to do that.

Transportation Tax passes committee

You got to be kidding me. This is the last thing we need right now in this state. Higher diesel taxes. That means there is going to be an increase in shipping costs. Be prepared to pay more for food and everything else that is shipped.

From Crains Detroit Business

Legislation that would increase by 4 cents the Michigan diesel fuel tax paid by truckers on Tuesday took a step forward in the state Senate.

The Senate Transportation Committee approved SB 862, which would increase the tax paid by a motor carrier from 15 cents to 19 cents a gallon, and SB 863, which would direct the revenue that’s raised to repairing bridges.

Both bills are sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Jud Gilbert, R-Algonac.

As approved by committee, the legislation allocates revenue produced from 2 cents of the increase to repairing state bridges, and puts revenue from the remaining 2 cents toward repairing local bridges, Gilbert said.

 The worst part? This is sponsored and led by a Republican! Jud Gilbert. He wrote it. I need to look up who else supported this in committee. Senators Gilbert (C), Kahn (VC), Van Woerkom, Basham (MVC), and Gleason are the committee members.


Unless the sales tax is eliminated from fuel, this needs to die. Hopefully Bishop sits on this.

There's a better way to fund transportation. Take the sales tax out of gasoline and transfer that to transportation.

Ken Sikkema pushing for gas tax

I was never a big fan of Ken Sikkema's policies. He was a fiscal liberal republican who gave Granholm most, if not all of what she wanted from 02 to 06.

Before the 07 tax increases, we had a period of big spending and "fee" increases, "tax shifts" and the like, and Ken Sikkema was a major player in this as the Senate majority leader. Rick Johnson and Ken Sikkema worked well with Granholm's fiscal liberalism against the more rank and file republicans. The fee increases were in 04. The "Tax shift" was in 06. The tax increase was in 07. These were all cases of taxpayers paying more money to the government who blows it like Tony Montana blew cocaine in Scarface.

I agree with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce more often than I disagree. I personally like a lot of the folks there, including Rich Studley who is usually right on the issues, including taxes. 8 out of 10 times I agree. This is one of the two. I also am well aware that Road Builders are part of the chamber membership and this is influencing some of the policy. On the gas tax increase push that has been going on 4+years, I could not disagree more.

Republicans need to take a lesson from Sikkema. The lesson is one year. 2006. Thanks to his policies which were even worse than Bush on fiscal issues, too many thought of republicans as democrat lite. It's time for less government and more freedom, and the gas tax is the worst tax of them all.

From the Chamber and MIRS

Supporters Try To Spark Idled Road Funding Issue
Former Senate Majority Leader Ken SIKKEMA and Michigan Chamber of Commerce President Rich STUDLEY held a "press roundtable" where they emphasized that Republicans have a long history of distinguishing between general tax hikes and user fees.

The context of the discussion was the ongoing effort to get Michigan officials to raise the revenues required to get the state's roads back into some semblance of good repair. A push for a hike in the state's 19-cent gas tax has been going on for at least four and a half years.

Sikkema, as Senior Policy Fellow for Public Sector Consultants, has issued a white paper to demonstrate that anti-tax Republicans have traditionally supported Gas Tax hikes.

"Over the past 12 years, 15 states have raised their Gas Tax," Sikkema told reporters. "Of those, 11 had Republican governors."

Mr. Sikkema, how many governors have we lost in the last 12 years? I don't give a damn what party raised the gas tax, it's wrong, especially as we have one of the highest gas taxes in the country, and one of the highest gas prices in the country. The deathblow to this economy was the high gas prices in 08. People's budgets were not ready for that, the cost of everything went up due to shipping, and it was a matter of time before the foreclosures cames in, the businesses folded, the jobs were lost, and the Republicans got their ass kicked. Now Sikkema wants to increase the price of gas again, and bring the money to this clustermuck of a government. I'm glad he's a former senator. Mark Jansen was a big improvement.

Gas Tax push continues

The Argus story today gave Mike Craine (road commission) a bully pulpit to parrot the talking points of the Lansing elite in its support to increase the gas tax. This is just what I want to hear as the prices are going up to $3 a gallon once again.

Livingston County’s top road official said the county will eventually have to “dis-invest,” rather than reinvest, in local roads unless action is taken to increase the state gas tax and vehicle registration rates.

In the coming weeks, state legislators will debate incremental increases to the state’s 19-cent-a-gallon gas tax and registration fees, which are now the primary recommendations to generate $1.8 billion in road funding over the next five years.

First of all. DAMNIT - GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. We do not have a 19-cent-a-gallon state gas tax. I repeat. We do not have a 19-cent-a-gallon state gas tax. I repeat this one more time for everyone in the cheap seats to hear. We do not have a 19-cent-a-gallon state gas tax. Capice? This, convieniently, and in my opinion, intentionally, does not mention the 6% sales tax.

So at $2.85 a gallon, what I paid today, we have the raw price, plus the federal 18.5 cents federal tax, then the 6% sales tax, then the 19 cent surcharge.

$2.85 - 0.19 = 2.66 - about .17 = 2.49 - about 19 cents in federal tax = a $2.30 raw price (including markups and all that).

$0.55 cents a gallon total tax at the pump. $0.36 cents in state tax. That makes us number one in the country in the highest gas tax, upending Wisconsin's $0.32 cents a gallon.

Then the Argus is back as it again....

State gas tax and fee increases are currently the only answers to boost funding for Michigan’s often crumbling roads, said Livingston County Road Commission Managing Director Mike Craine.

“They’re the only available answer, but it’s not been a good idea to talk about a tax increase since 1983,” Craine said.

An 18.4-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax is also charged at the pump.

Craine said the county continues to see the greatest declines statewide in revenue from overall fuel taxes, and income from registration fees has become stagnant despite the county’s tremendous growth during the past two decades.

Once again, this whole thing is based on the false premise that only the gas tax pays for the roads. That's it. Until SOMEBODY gives me a plan that is not based on that false premise, I'm not even going to listen to it.

Nyet.

The gas tax push is official

Here we go. The gas tax push was not a boy who cried wolf. The wolf is there, and it is a push of several bills. Peter Luke has the story. One correction to his story. The gas tax in Michigan is NOT 19 cents. I repeat. It is not 19 cents. It is about 31cents when you add sales tax.

From the Flint Journal

LANSING -- Lawmakers and road advocates began what will be a months-long push to raise $1.8 billion in higher gas tax and registration fees over the next half-decade that they say is required to keep Michigan roads in decent repair.


Under the 13-bill package partially introduced Thursday, the gas tax would effectively rise from 19 cents to a maximum of 34 cents per gallon over the next seven years. Registration fees for new cars would jump as much as 20 percent annually over the next five years. By 2014, the annual cost of registering a new $27,000 car purchased that year would be $265. The current fee is $136.

Higher-priced used car registrations would rise about 60 percent under the plan by 2014. The price of registering low-value used cars would remain about the same.

In a new local funding option, counties would be able to seek a voter-approved $25 annual fee on driver's licenses to pay for local road needs.

The package also includes legislation to encourage private transportation investment and authorizes the Michigan Department of Transportation to explore charging tolls in Michigan. It provides an additional $50 million annually for local public transportation.

The intent is to raise an additional $1.8 billion in new funding over time, but quickly generate enough cash to make sure Michigan doesn't forfeit some $2 billion in federal road funding through 2013, which the state currently lacks the money to match. Without that match, the $2 billion would fund road projects in other states.

Peter Varga, executive director of The Rapid transit system in Kent County, said that $2 billion has already been paid for, through federal fuel taxes paid by Michigan motorists. "Ironically, (that's) money that we already sent to Washington that would not be coming back. Think about that."

I posted on this issue several times in the past year, most recently on April 18 when Peter Luke was advocating for this. A lot of the numbers used from the budget were there.

These proposals for tax increases are even WORSE than the numbers I used, which was based on a nine cent increase on the gas tax. They want 15 cents increase per gallon. Of COURSE the sales tax isn't touched, and is ALWAYS ignored by the Lansing elite when they talk about the gas tax.

Keep in mind that this is all based on FALSE assumptions, that only gas taxes and resgistration taxes can pay for the roads.

One issue that isn't addressed is why Michigan roads suck compared to Indiana's? or Ohio's? I know the "freeze/thaws" are used as an excuse, but Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota all have freezes and thaws. All these states have storms and rains and snow.

Gas taxes for comparison, not counting the federal taxes.
Michigan - About 31 cents a gallon. ($2.40 gas)
Illinois - 32 cents a gallon
Indiana - 29 cents
Iowa - 22 cents
Minnesota - 26 cents
Ohio - 28 cents
Wisconsin - 33 cents

I haven't driven in Wisconsin, Iowa, or Minnesota, so I can't compare their roads. Ohio and Indiana roads are much better than Michigan's roads, despite slightly lower gas taxes. I don't know their registration fees, but it's a racket here.

The problem is that there is something shady in this state and I'd like to see the contractual agreements. Roads are built on the cheap around here. There's always repairs. There's always orange barrels out there. The roadbuilders are one of the more influential lobbyists out there. They want to build the roads on the cheap. If they do a good job, there's less work next year. Nothing needs to get fixed. So we use the cheap materials in Michigan, and turn this all into a makework project, the government can always run on fixing things, and their buddies get their government cheese. Instead of fixing that problem to begin with, it's the old "we need more taxes" which is the "only solution" even though we have one of the highest gas taxes in the country, currently over 30 cents a gallon.

Here's a newsflash to the Lansing elite. Most of the time, the so called "only" solution isn't the only one, and the "only" solution is even worse than doing nothing. Government screwed it up to begin with.

Build the roads right, and leave us alone. Any politician in this economy who supports a tax increase, especially on the worst one of them all, needs to get run out of town and out of politics forever.

Gas tax to increase in Michigan soon? (Side title - we're broke despite revenue increases)

This isn't the first time this issue has come up. The Lansing elite has been trying to shove this down our throats for years. The Gas Tax. Both parties haven't been great on this.

2007 - Hopgood and DeRoche push for gas tax

The usually sensible Michigan Chamber of Commerce pushed it in 07

The Granholm tax force in 08

Late 08, again

Now one the more influential columnists in Lansing is trying to stir this up again.
Peter Luke, columnist of Booth Newspapers (Ann Arbor News) is pushing for a gas tax for the roads. It once again relies on the false assumptions. The assumption among the elite in Lansing is that "only the gas tax can pay for roads." That's the number one assumption of ALL these pushes for the gas tax. I don't buy that. Assumption is the mother of all eff ups.

Judging from the opposition to socialist tax schemes by those who traveled over Michigan's collectivist road system to the Lansing "tea party," it just got harder to pass business-backed funding increases for transportation.

Lawmakers this week are expected to begin work on a hike in fuel taxes, last raised in 1997, and vehicle registration fees, sending them to Gov. Jennifer Granholm by summer.

Is this that same 50% registration increase that the task force wanted? As far as gas prices go, are they going to go up to $4.50 a gallon this summer, again? Is sales tax going to be collected on this? Take the money from another department. We can start with Dan Mulhern's staff, that new state police building, and corrections be keeping people in jail for smoking a doobie. In addition, do you trust state government enough to make sure that goes to roads? Or will they starve the roads for a bigger tax increase while repeating this same assumption over and over and over and over and over again.

Without those increases, Michigan's road-repair budget will soon be broke. And yet, billions are needed to keep one of the nation's most decrepit road systems in reasonably good shape.

Assume. It makes an ass of u and me.. This premis is ONLY true if the assumption is true. It does not have to be. Roads should be priority funding. Right now 6% of every gallon of gas goes not to roads. That 6% is the state sales tax, which goes on top of the original gas tax. We are taxed twice over on gasoline.

Too bad the crowd at the Capitol on Wednesday loudly booed any mention of a gas-tax increase. And that the Michigan Republican Party hastened to endorse them.

"It's time to send a strong unified message that Michigan residents and job providers cannot afford another tax hike," GOP chairman Ron Weiser said.

Republicans intend to run next year against income and business tax increases approved in 2007, even though no Democrat was defeated in 2008 for voting for them. GOP co-chairwoman Sharon Wise said the 2007 hike -- which prevented steep cuts in higher education, health care and aid to local governments -- was "taken" from Michigan families.

The revenues keep increasing to the state, and what have we gotten from them. Jack and you know what. These are Granholm's numbers. Budget Book

(Fiscal year)
1999 - 32,653,492,611 (Amount Spent - and Michigan has balanced budget, so revenues are close to that number)
Transportation - 2,631,185,388

2000 - 34,525,326,492
Transportation - 2,660,470,554

2001 - 37,277,724,042
Transportation - 2,775,245,805

2002 - 39,077,762,617
Transportation - 2,857,404,627

(Granholm takes office)

2003 - 39,297,181,602
Transportation - 2,858,865,148

2004 - 39,388,261,316
Transportation - 2,957,280,073

2005 - 40,375,490,414
Transportation - 2,920,553,025

2006 - 41,326,338,653
Transportation - 2,940,680,294

2007 - 41,945,183,846
Transportation - 2,779,953,122

2008 - 43,578,704,400 (Tax increase)
Transportation - 3,360,195,600

2009 - 44,834,397,200 (Executive recommendation)
Transportation - 3,424,465,500 (executive recommendation)

This keeps going up DESPITE tens of thousands of people leaving the state.

The tax protesters conveniently neglected to mention that Michigan's 4.35 percent income-tax rate is lower than it was under most of Republican Gov. John Engler's 12 years in office. Nor is it a GOP talking point.

Under the 2007 increase, a household with $50,000 in taxable income paid about $225 more in 2008 than under the 3.9 percent rate. But that is $25 less than they would have paid in 1999.

I don't give a damn if it is less than Engler's term. Again, false comparison. Many states don't have an income tax or a property tax. We have both, and a sales tax, and the MBT, etc. Secondly, the gross revenues keep increasing year in and year out. $5 Billion dollars more - 1/2 of the amount budgeted as "general fund", is sent to Lansing, than it was at the end of the Engler years. Thanks to Headlee, Michigan can not operate without a balanced budget. The fact is that the Granholm admin gets much more money than Engler ever did.

If Republicans consider that thievery, then a proposed $1.4 billion increase in gas taxes and registration fees -- $150 per vehicle when it's phased in -- would take no less from a two-car household.

About $60 (with my six year old truck) more to the government in registration fees. Approxminately 9 cents more (based on previous proposals) per gallon every time I go to the pump. If the raw price of gas is $1.81/$3.81 here in Michigan, and this passes, the real cost will be.
Wholesale price - $1.81 (3.81)
US gas tax - 18.4 cents - $2.00, $4.00
Sales Tax (applies to US tax and price - $2.12, $4.24
Michigan gas tax - $2.31, $4.43
Michigan gas tax increase - $2.40, $4.52

Before the gas tax, it would cost me about $46.20 (or $88.60) per fill up (about 20 gallons). After - $48.00.(or $90). Now I included the $4+ gas prices here because I expect to see them again this summer. These energy prices were the final knockout punch IMO in this economy. People saw these every day and had to budget for them. This was an extra $40 every fillup that people did not plan for or expect. That money had to come from somewhere. That lead to inflation. Gasoline prices - obvious. Food costs went up. Shipping. Business costs went up - shipping. Household bills increased. It just amazes me that government and these pundits want an increase on the worst possible tax around, AND that they assume (the mother of all @#%# ups), that is the only possible solution. It reminds me that the 1.4 trillion dollar bank bailouts (there are two of them) are the ONLY possible solution according to Bush, Obama, McCain, and the rest of the Washington elite.

And so the GOP has put its lawmakers in a box.

Business, labor and elected officials in both parties agree basic stewardship requires finding the cash to fix Michigan's infrastructure. And economic stimulus money provides only a temporary boost, through the 2010 construction season.

But the Michigan Republican Party has cemented an anti-tax stance that appeals to its most conservative, tea-bag-waving elements. That makes it tough for radical outfits like the Michigan Chamber of Commerce to persuade GOP lawmakers to join Granholm and Democrats in raising transportation taxes.

Spare me, Pete. I like the Chamber, but they have a different agenda this time. You see, one of their constituents is the Road Builders who want more money for contracts. I don't fault the Chamber for that stance. They have to represent their members.

And unless Republicans do that, Democrats vilified for the 2007 income tax hike are not going to stick their necks out again. GOP lawmakers already edgy about the issue apparently have to choose between their party and the economic good of their state. It's a choice they should not have to make.

They don't have to make that choice. That's what you people in Lansing don't understand. This whole push for a gas tax increase is based on this false assumption that only gas tax money can go to roads, and that it is the only solution, etc.

I'll tell you what. I'll support a compromise because I do think roads funding is important. Here's the compromise. No registration fee increases, end the sales tax for gasoline, and then increase the gas tax by 10 cents (and I won't even complain if it is 12 cents in this case). ALL of that money goes to roads and only to roads - period. That results in no increased costs for us with $2 a gallon gas, or a slight increase possibly if it is 12 cents at $2. That's my compromise plan.

As for the plan of 9 cents a gallon increase, and the 50% registration increase, and the keeping the 6% sales tax on gasoline - get the recall petitions ready for those who vote for that. You can quote me on that.

Lansing insiders want to raise the gas tax.

The lastest studies by the political class concluded one obvious solution that comes to them. Taxes! More of them. My least favorite tax. The gas tax. With gas prices STILL high, and likely to go back to their rates three months ago with Washington DC unlikely to allow more exploration of supplies, along with increased industrialization of India and China, the last thing we need is another artificial price increase thank to Washington or Lansing.

The worst tax in the country is the gas tax. I blame the gas prices as one of the major contributors to the economic collapse. People did not budget for $4.00+ gas. People always must pay the gas taxes or they miss work. This raises the costs for shipping and of every single product on the market, especially food costs. It devastates the Big 3. People lose jobs, are foreclosed, etc.

I will seriously consider a primary challenge against anyone from our county who votes for this tax if they are not term limited out. I would run on this issue, number one.

The lefties at AP had this out titled 'Mich. gas tax, registration fees may have to rise'. First off, have to rise? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm and lawmakers should consider eliminating Michigan's 19-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax and replacing it with a tax on the wholesale price of gas, according to a report being released Monday.

Swapping the taxes would let revenues rise or fall with changing fuel prices rather than tying gas revenues to consumption, which is falling as motorists drive more fuel-efficient cars or cut back on buying gas to cope with prices that at one point topped $4 per gallon.

The change could boost transportation funding in the long run and might ensure that a bigger share of taxes paid at the pump actually go toward Michigan's deteriorating roads, advocates say.

The recommendation is one of many listed in a Transportation Funding Task Force report set for release Monday. The Associated Press got an advance copy of the 85-page report.

"We may need to shift away from a 19th- or 20th-century tax on motor fuels," said Rich Studley, task force co-chairman and head of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. He warned that the current system is becoming "obsolete."

Rich Studley is a good guy, but one siginificant power at the state chamber is the roadbuilders who have been pushing this for a long long time. That's not a slam, but a fact.

The 13-member task force was created by a state law asking for recommendations to improve roads, bridges, airports and public transportation and come up with new ways to pay for them.

The panel, which includes four legislators — two Democrats and two Republicans — decided to pass up delivering a preliminary report due Oct. 31 and release the final report months ahead of schedule.

The report says Michigan must double its transportation spending and warns that one or two incremental fee increases won't be enough to meet the need.

States have been struggling to find ways to raise enough money to fix crumbling roads and bridges and fund airports and public transportation. Gasoline sales nationally are down, so state and federal gasoline taxes are drawing in less money. Michigan continues to get back less in federal transportation dollars than it sends to Washington.

Matt Helms of the Free Press has this

Among the options:

• Increasing vehicle registration fees. Task force member Mike Nystrom of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association said his group would favor a progressive increase that would be higher for more expensive vehicles.

• Changing the state's gas tax from a per-gallon rate to a percentage rate, similar to the sales tax, helping stabilize gas tax revenues. Nystrom said one idea to offset the impact to drivers would be to lower the percentage when gas prices are high.

• Looking at public-private partnerships that could include leasing roads to for-profit companies that could build toll lanes, or public-private collaborations on light-rail systems.

• Raising the diesel tax to 19 cents per gallon from 15 cents, to make it equal to the state gas tax.

As far as I'm concerned, registration fees are another tax. As far as "expensive" vehicles, does that go for the original price or the current value? My truck was probably about $28,000 when the original owner bought it. I paid about $11,000 3-4 years ago. Used. Will I be paying a tax on a $28,000 truck, $11,000 truck, or about $6000 or so it would be worth today. Heads up.


As far as toll roads go, I'm not adverse to them - as long as they are NEW roads, and not on existing roads. Same goes with HOV lanes.

The biggest problem is this false premise that all state road money did, does, and always will only come from the gas tax. That idea needs to be squashed and we all need to send that message to our reps now and hope that once again, Lansing doesn't bend us all over during the lame duck session with term limited reps which got us all those fee increases in 2004. As Kevin Bacon's famous Animal House Quote goes - "Thank you sir may I have another!" Time to call Chris, Joe, and Valde and tell them no tax increases. With gas at about $2.00, now is the time the tax hikers are going to strike. They will not do this when it goes back to $4.00 - and it will likely do so next summer.

Now one of the few things I think that government should spend money on is infastructure. Michigan has one of the highest gas taxes in the country. It's not 19 cents like the media says. It's 19 cents, and then another 6% of the entire cost. So if the raw price of gas is $1.62.6, add 18.4 cents for the federal tax. $1.81 add 19 Cents for the state tax. That makes it $2.00 Now add the 6% sales tax. 12 more cents. $2.12. Right now if gas is $2.12 per gallon, 50 cents of that is going to the gas tax. Almost 25% of all costs. If the raw price was $3.62, the main taxes increase it to $4.00 Add .24 cents per gallon in sales tax. Now taxes are 62 cents per gallon going to the government. The diesel tax recommendation is as bad if not worse. Pay more in shipping costs if this happens.

One recommendation I have is this - all money from the sales tax for gasoline is earmarked for roads and not the general fund. That can be paid for by eliminating needless government pork, like MSU trustee Joel Ferguson's State Police building, Dan Mulhern's paid staff and figurehead position, cutting these trips for government officials, and taking a scalpal to the budget. Another idea I have is consolidating townships and eliminating duplication. If you want to talk about "moving to the 21st century" there's a start. Back in 1837, it would probably take me all day to get from Green Oak to Lansing by horse. Now I can do it in about an hour by truck.

This false premise on the gas tax being the only way to fund roads needs to get sent to Hell.

Democrats in Washington want to RAISE GAS TAX

From the AP. I mentioned a long time ago that democrats like higher gas prices. Here's more proof, at least in Oberstar's case.

Senate Democrats in May tried to add $5 billion to an aviation overhaul bill to replenish the highway trust fund next year; Republicans objected. Democrats tried again in June, but this time for $8 billion; Republicans objected to that, too.

Congress should first reduce spending on pet projects, known as earmarks, argued Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. "I'm not going to let the Senate spend all this money when nobody is looking, especially when we refuse to stop wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on earmarks."

Oberstar, D-Minn., said his committee is working on the next long-term highway bill. He estimated it will take between $450 billion and $500 billion over six years to address safety and congestion issues with highways, bridges and transit systems.

"We'll put all things on the table," Oberstar said, but the gas tax "is the cornerstone. Nothing else will work without the underpinning of the higher user fee gas tax."

At the very least, the gas tax should be indexed to construction cost inflation, DeFazio said.

Among other revenue-raising possibilities, the commission recommended gradually increasing the current federal fuel taxes to 40 cents a gallon.

Other ideas that will be on the table when lawmakers write a bill next year including more toll roads and public-private partnerships, congestion pricing and user fees where drivers pay a tax based on how many miles they drive.

I'd had to put the computer down and walk away a bit to cool off after those two comments. The GOP needs to hammer this hard and the comments by Oberstar and DeFazio, especially if it is on camera. Right now high prices are rightly or wrongly placed mostly on Bush, not those two jagoffs and others who think like them.

Gas Tax to increase?

We're paying $3.20 a gallon, and that isn't enough? Gas, mileage, and sales taxes. Oh My!

From the Port Huron Times-Herald

Recently, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill Gilbert sponsored last year that will create a task force and citizen advisory committee charged with proposing alternative revenue sources to pay for the state's transportation needs.
(SNIP)
Much of the state's roads budget is generated by the 19-cent tax on each gallon of gasoline sold. Cars, however, have grown increasingly fuel efficient, and Wednesday, the price of a barrel of oil passed the $100 threshold - forcing prices at the pump up.

Gilbert said Thursday no legislator "on either side of the aisle" is prepared to raise taxes. He then proposed two solutions that would potentially raise taxes.

The state, he said, could adopt a "mileage tax" whereby each persons' mileage would be recorded at the gas pump and taxed in place of the traditional gas tax. A task force in Oregon has proposed such a solution to that state's roads budget crisis.

He also suggested the task force consider raising the sales tax one penny.

OK, what the hell am I paying $3.20 (Well above national average) a gallon for then?
18.4 cents is federal tax.
19 cents is Michigan gas tax
Most importantly, 6% sales tax is also applicable.

What could have been going to roads has been going to that damn new MSP HQ thanks to a sweetheart deal between the democrats and big donor and MSU trustee Joel Ferguson.

We supposedly have this new "surplus" before the tax increases taking place.

We do not need a tax increase to fix the roads. We just need good budgetary sense, something foreign to governments.

Gas tax increase proposal

This here is enough for me to grab a pitchfork and lead a peasant rebellion. Normally I agree with the state Chamber, but not this time at all.

LANSING -- A gas tax is a job creator, while the service tax is a job killer. So say the interest groups out to hike the one and scrap the other. Despite the pressure, lawmakers are tax averse at the moment.

On Wednesday, a coalition of road builders, union leaders, local governments and general business groups renewed their push for a $1 billion annual increase in fuel tax and vehicle registration fees to replenish shrinking road repair budgets.

A bill package quickly shelved after introduction in April would raise the state's 19-cent gas tax to 28 cents per gallon by 2009 and boost vehicle registration fees by 50 percent. The state would get 40 percent of the new money. Counties and cities would share the rest. The proposal has languished because neither Gov. Jennifer Granholm nor lawmakers have made road revenue an element in a year-long struggle to balance the state budget

The talking points from them is that the money for a gas tax would fix the roads. I don't trust government to earmark that money there in the first place, but here's my response. Why the hell are the roads in other states better than ours despite constant construction, many of them have lower gas prices? Weather is used as an excuse, but other states have more extreme weather than we do.

Michigan year in and year out has one of the highest gas prices in the country. Not only that, we pay 6% sales tax on top of the gas taxes we already have, so we are already double taxed.

And one rumor I heard is that one of the grants or possible grants for that Train to Nowhere being pushed here is $500,000 from our highway funds. Now I don't know for a fact if that is true, but if it is, than this money won't be just going for road repairs.

With $3/gallon gas as it is, this turkey needs to be shot down faster than you can say Jack Robinson.