The Gas Tax: Scamming Americans by the gallon.

By Rob Janicki

The gas tax, whether it is the federal gas tax or a state gas tax, is nothing but a liberal

Democrat sham and a fraud on an unsuspecting public.  Liberals have never met a tax they didn't like and didn't want to enact and the gas tax has proven to be a gold mine for growing Big Government.

The original concept of the gas tax was to provide for regular and ongoing maintenance of highways, bridges and associated public works projects related to automotive users.  The idea was for users to pay for the maintenance and upgrading of highway systems, rather than forcing non users to pay for these continuing highway expenses.

It all sounded so reasonable and logical until ... politicians realized that they had a Golden Goose to rob of untold millions and billions of dollars.  It's become a money tree for politicians when they realized they could merely siphon off dollars from the gas tax fund for completely unrelated spending.  And siphon, they did.

President Obama, from day one in office, has beaten the drum on revitalizing our American highway infrastructure as a means to stimulating the economy.  After spending around one trillion dollars to stimulate the American economy, mostly by social welfare means, we find the economy is still underperforming after six years under the direction of our economically challenged president, who insists that Keynesian economics will result in a return to economic normalcy.   It hasn't happened in six years and there is no reason to believe it will happen in Obama's two remaining years in office.

The reason I can say with assurance that Obama's economic illiteracy will not pull America out of its economic malaise is simple.  Government, contrary to Keynesian economic theory, cannot borrow and spend its way to prosperity, since its debt will only drag it, and the American economy, down exponentially going forward. 

The greater the government debt, the more government revenue will necessarily have to be diverted to pay off the interest on the growing debt level, rather than necessary committed entitlement programs.   Government printing of paper money only devalues money already in circulation.  That's why we have seen consumer product costs rising with little attention being paid by politicians on how this has bee adversely affecting Joe Average on Main Street.

Back to the gas tax, federal or state.  Politicians of all stripes have been plundering gas tax funds with convoluted and contorted means to cover their ever expanding budget deficits.  Most Americans would be outraged if they knew how few gas tax dollars were being used for their intended purposes and they should be outraged that Democrats are even talking about raising gas taxes at the federal level.  Now for some good news on this front.

Raising the federal gas tax rate simply won't happen with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress.  Republicans, even RINO's, know that raising the gas tax in light of the fact that the price of gas at the pump has decreased by almost 50%, has been a consumer stimulus not seen for six years under the Obama administration.  

Raising the gas tax at this time would present a stumbling block to the economy and would be a penalty for consumers.  My message to consumers it to enjoy what is essentially a pay raise.  It won't last forever.  When the global economy improves, expect the global market cost of crude oil to go up and hence the cost of gasoline at the pump.