A new report from Fox Business has revealed that several states are considering taxing drivers by the mile, rather than the gallon, in an effort to increase funding for road maintenance.
A consistent complaint from Americans across the country is that they pay taxes for the government to maintain the roadways, yet the roads are always either under construction or filled with potholes. Despite the fact that officials have supposedly been spending gas taxes to fix roadways, many roads are often in poor condition.
You have to drive on crumbling roads and bridges while they give billions to foreign countries.
You have to get harassed by the TSA at the airport while they support al-Qaeda in Yemen.
You have to deal with inflation while they live free of its consequences.
— Libertarian Party (@LPNational) September 21, 2022
Now, because gas taxes “are generating less each year due to inflation, fuel efficiency and the rise of electric cars,” officials have reported not having enough money to fix the roads, according to Fox Business.
These state officials are now considering several proposals to make up for the loss in funding — including charging drivers by the mile instead of the gallon, taxing electricity via car charging stations or adding charges to door-to-door deliveries.
“The federal government is about to pilot its own program, funded by $125 million from President Biden’s infrastructure measure that he signed in November 2021,” the Fox Business report stated.
“So far, only three states, Oregon, Utah and Virginia are generating revenue from road usage charges,” the outlet added, noting that Hawaii is also planning to do so.
While states are reportedly struggling to take in enough money in taxes, it is clear that increasing those taxes will just put more strain on people during a time that the average American is struggling thanks to President Joe Biden’s economy.
Biden administration officials have even acknowledged the economic suffering, with White House Senior Advisor Mitch Landrieu stating earlier this month that although the economy is fairly strong, “inflation is very, very stubborn.”
“It’s lower here than in every other [country in the] industrialized world and it has come down for the last eleven months. So, I’m not saying we’re out of the battle,” he added.
The policies being considered to counter the decrease in funding for road maintenance will also likely have an effect on the upcoming 2024 election, as recent polling shows that voters are especially concerned about their finances due to inflation.
“Eighty-seven percent of likely U.S. voters say they are concerned about inflation, including 63 percent who say they are very concerned, a poll from Rasmussen Reports showed Friday. Only 11 percent say they are not concerned about inflation,” Breitbart News reported on June 12.
