Despite dire warnings from the Associated General Contractors of America, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Public Transportation Association and other business groups, state governors and local officials that a six year reauthorization of the federal Highway Trust Fund is needed to bring back about half of the 1.5 million construction jobs lost since January 2007, infighting among members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about how to pay for a $450 billion long term reauthorization measure seems to have doomed the legislative push for passage of a bill before the current legislation expires at the end of September. Congressman Earl Blumenauer is still pressing for a tax on miles driven to replace current motor fuel levies, while Congressman John Mica of Florida wants a "flat tax" of 7.5% on motor fuel purchases, and Congressman Peter DeFazio wants to augment the current motor fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon by "upstream" taxes of $1 per barrel on crude oil, plus $190 billion in new levies on speculators in crude oil futures.
Like none of us will see the pump price going up due to these new tax levies!
While our elected representatives continue debating how to find the best way of fooling us voters into believing they haven't increased taxes on us, 750,000 construction tradespeople who could be working this summer are sitting at home trying to figure out how to pay for food, their kids' college tuition, and gas to keep driving from job site to job site looking for work.
Like none of us will see the pump price going up due to these new tax levies!
While our elected representatives continue debating how to find the best way of fooling us voters into believing they haven't increased taxes on us, 750,000 construction tradespeople who could be working this summer are sitting at home trying to figure out how to pay for food, their kids' college tuition, and gas to keep driving from job site to job site looking for work.
