Archive for ‘Gas Taxes’

Will NYC Congestion Pricing Just Die Already?

by Lewis Derkins
August 4th, 2008, 5:38 pm


Faced with a looming $900 million budget shortfall at MTA, congestion pricing advocates have reared their ugly heads again to rally for the implementation of the fees in order to fund mass transit.  I make no attempt to conceal the ... more

Posted in Congestion Pricing, Gas Taxes, Mass Transit, Spending, Subways, Tax Increases | 14 Comments »

More Gas Tax Revenue Problems

by Lewis Derkins
July 29th, 2008, 11:31 pm


The hits just keep coming as the New York Times reports today that Department of Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, proposed borrowing from the Federal Highway Trust Fund’s Mass Transit account to pay for unfinished road projects. Gasoline tax revenue is falling ... more

Posted in Car Taxes, Gas Taxes, Highways, Mass Transit, Spending, Tax Increases, Uncategorized Rage | 11 Comments »

Falling Gas Tax Revenues = Bad For Mass Transit

by Lewis Derkins
July 28th, 2008, 9:56 pm


Uh oh! Last week, I mentioned that taking cars off the roads will only hurt mass transit. Today, The Wall Street Journal confirms my sentiments. The first sentence of this article says it all: An unprecedented cutback in driving is slashing the ... more

Posted in Congestion Pricing, Gas Prices, Gas Taxes, Highways, Mass Transit, Tax Increases, Uncategorized Rage | 13 Comments »

New York MTA Hurt by Rising Fuel Costs

by Lewis Derkins
July 23rd, 2008, 5:11 pm


Today, Streetsblog commented on the way rising fuel costs and declining revenues are contributing to a $900 million budget shortfall with New York’s MTA. Writer Ben Fried points to possible solutions: In the face of these numbers, why are Paterson and Bloomberg ... more

Posted in Bridges, Congestion Pricing, Fines, Gas Taxes, Highways, Mass Transit, Spending | 13 Comments »

Drinking With Bob on Gas Taxes

by Judd Wiley
July 2nd, 2008, 6:35 pm


Bob rants: "Bloomberg wants people to stop driving! He wants less cars on the road! He wants to make the environment a prettier place! NO! IT'S NOT THE JOB OF TAXES TO CONTROL PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR!" Watch more of Drinking With Bob’s ... more

Posted in Environmentalism, Gas Prices, Gas Taxes, Tax Increases, Traffic Congestion, Uncategorized Rage | No Comments »

McCain’s $300 Million Battery Prize

by Lewis Derkins
June 23rd, 2008, 9:25 pm


Senator McCain proposed a $300 million prize to the developer of a battery that “far surpasses existing technology” today.  He called this "a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency." I couldn’t agree more, but ... more

Posted in Gas Prices, Gas Taxes, Oil, Technology, Uncategorized Rage | 2 Comments »

Krauthammer: Raise Gas Taxes, Suppress Demand

by Judd Wiley
June 11th, 2008, 2:11 pm


Charles Krauthammer argues in the Washington Post that the U.S. government should “establish a new floor for gasoline” by “fully taxing any drop in price below a certain benchmark.” He claims that “the price point is $4.” At $3 a gallon, Americans ... more

Posted in Gas Prices, Gas Taxes, Oil, Tax Increases | 1 Comment »

Build More Lanes, Please

by Judd Wiley
June 10th, 2008, 5:30 pm


We often hear the following: If you build more lanes, traffic will get worse. Those who argue this point are usually armed with a hefty list of scholarly tomes, reports, journal articles, and so on. This professor. That ... more

Posted in Gas Taxes, Highways, Mass Transit, Politics, Spending, Subways, Traffic Congestion | 11 Comments »

StreetsBlog: StreetCritiques

by Lewis Derkins
June 2nd, 2008, 9:35 pm


Recently, many of our readers have probably noticed that we have been engaged in a lively discussion with several StreetsBloggers concerning various disagreements we have with their policies. The debate centers around us picking on StreetsBlog – whom we view ... more

Posted in Congestion Pricing, Gas Prices, Gas Taxes, Mass Transit, Subways, Tax Increases, Tolls, Traffic Congestion | 14 Comments »

Massachusetts Considers Instituting Tolls on I-93

by Lewis Derkins
May 20th, 2008, 6:09 pm


Today, Governor Patrick’s administration signaled that it is considering new tolls on I-93. "Everything is on the table here, and we need to look in all corners," Cohen said during the Turnpike Authority Board's monthly meeting, which he chairs. "Whether we will ... more

Posted in Gas Taxes, Highways, Spending, Tolls | No Comments »

WashPost Calls for Gas Tax Hike

by Judd Wiley
May 2nd, 2008, 10:11 am


The pointy heads at the Washington Post have delivered another infuriating editorial, this time on why we need higher gas taxes. If the United States had a sensible energy policy, a higher federal excise tax on motor fuels would definitely be ... more

Posted in Gas Taxes, Tax Increases | No Comments »

Obama Voted for Gas Tax Holiday in 2000

by Judd Wiley
April 24th, 2008, 8:45 pm


Barack Obama opposes John McCain's federal gas-tax "holiday," which would eliminate the 18.4-cent tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Yet he voted for such a measure in 2000 when he was an Illinois state senator. Sen. Obama voted for a six-month, ... more

Posted in Gas Prices, Gas Taxes, Oil, Politics | 3 Comments »

Gas Tax Relief?

by Judd Wiley
April 16th, 2008, 11:27 pm


John McCain wants a summer-long suspension of the $0.18 federal gas tax to combat soaring fuel prices. "The effect will be an immediate economic stimulus - taking a few dollars off the price of a tank of gas every time a ... more

Posted in Gas Taxes, Politics | No Comments »