US Gasoline Tax Increase Proposed - Polidicks

[quote]Reuters) - Two U.S. senators on Wednesday proposed raising federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes by 12 cents a gallon (3.2 cents a liter) over the next two years to keep a road and bridge fund from going broke. The gasoline tax now stands at 18.4 cents a gallon, and the diesel tax at 24.4 cents a gallon. The politically sensitive levies have not been increased since 1993. [..] The fund pays for about half the country's spending on transportation projects and is projected to run out of money by the end of August. [B]"If Americans feel that having modern roads and bridges is important then Congress should have the courage to pay for it,” said Tennessee's Corker, in a joint statement. [/B][..] Murphy and Corker called for raising the taxes by 6 cents a year over the next two years, while offsetting the increased federal revenue with other tax cuts. They also proposed indexing the fuel taxes to keep pace with inflation. [/quote] [url]http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/18/us-congress-gas-tax-idUSKBN0ET28G20140618[/url]

Bob Corker? Really? From Tennessee? If you've ever been to Tennessee, you should realize one thing: We have no road budget. A significant majority of our bridges fail structural inspections. We're in this situation largely because we don't have an income tax. And how Corker wants to raise the federal tax on gas for everyone. That's interesting, to say the very least.

Still has one of the lowest fuel excises in the world.

[QUOTE=DogGunn;45146076]Still has one of the lowest fuel excises in the world.[/QUOTE] Supply and demand economics. Highest consumer and when the prices went skyrocket after the 07 market crash, no one was buying gas so its been hovering the past couple years.

[QUOTE=Paul McCartney;45146111]Supply and demand economics. Highest consumer and when the prices went skyrocket after the 07 market crash, no one was buying gas so its been hovering the past couple years.[/QUOTE] Are you thinking of fuel prices? I don't think fuel excise is linked to supply or demand, only the amount they make from the excise.

This passes and what precious few shreds of economic recovery we've seen disappear overnight. Drop the bill, it's a stupid idea. [editline]18th June 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=woolio1;45146018]Bob Corker? Really? From Tennessee? If you've ever been to Tennessee, you should realize one thing: We have no road budget. A significant majority of our bridges fail structural inspections. We're in this situation largely because we don't have an income tax. And how Corker wants to raise the federal tax on gas for everyone. That's interesting, to say the very least.[/QUOTE] And yet we have some of the best quality pavement in the area. TDOT knows what they're doing and they're getting money from somewhere, 'cause the interstates in and around Nashville are all getting repaved quite nicely.

[QUOTE=DogGunn;45146076]Still has one of the lowest fuel excises in the world.[/QUOTE] Poorer underclass too, lower wages, shrinking middle class, a million other reasons why direct comparisons don't work here.

[QUOTE=TestECull;45146221]This passes and what precious few shreds of economic recovery we've seen disappear overnight. Drop the bill, it's a stupid idea. [editline]18th June 2014[/editline] And yet we have some of the best quality pavement in the area. TDOT knows what they're doing and they're getting money from somewhere, 'cause the interstates in and around Nashville are all getting repaved quite nicely.[/QUOTE] The Interstates are fine. It's everything outside the Interstates that's terrible. Come out to Knoxville, and our roads are lined with potholes. Driving on campus, specifically down Cumberland, is abysmal. Same with most of West Knoxville, Sevierville (outside of the touristy areas), Andersonville, Heiskell, Maryville, Jefferson City... The list goes on. It's not a fun place to drive a Mini Cooper with very little suspension.

How about the cartel that is OPEC reduces their bullshit colluded pricing and then we'll talk.

[QUOTE=outlawpickle;45146366]How about the cartel that is OPEC reduces their bullshit colluded pricing and then we'll talk.[/QUOTE] Heres a fun fact for you: The US is the largest producer of oil outside of OPEC

We need to get rid of the gas tax and do one for mileage instead.

[QUOTE=Code3Response;45146435]Heres a fun fact for you: The US is the largest producer of oil outside of OPEC[/QUOTE] [URL="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/12/uk-iea-outlook-idUKBRE9AB0N920131112"]And we're working towards the top spot[/URL]

[QUOTE=Silence I Kill You;45146586]We need to get rid of the gas tax and do one for mileage instead.[/QUOTE] That would require some sort of tracking system so how about fuck that. [editline]18th June 2014[/editline] Literally the only reason to want a mileage tax instead of gas tax is if your car gets bad fuel economy, which is somthing you should have considered before buying/modifying it.

You could always invade another country and take their crude oil to make more petrol.

[QUOTE=ZakkShock;45146613][URL="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/12/uk-iea-outlook-idUKBRE9AB0N920131112"]And we're working towards the top spot[/URL][/QUOTE] Not exactly something to be proud about.

[QUOTE=Trekintosh;45146690]Literally the only reason to want a mileage tax instead of gas tax is if your car gets bad fuel economy, which is somthing you should have considered before buying/modifying it.[/QUOTE] Not really. Cars have been getting more fuel efficient over the years, so the revenue of taxing by gallon of gas is going to drop. This allows us to have a steady income for our roads and bridges no matter how fuel efficient, or what type of fuel your vehicle uses. For instance, for every EV that hits the road, that's less tax being paid to use the road, with the same amount of usage.

[QUOTE=ZakkShock;45146613][URL="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/12/uk-iea-outlook-idUKBRE9AB0N920131112"]And we're working towards the top spot[/URL][/QUOTE] That article basically said we're fucked because fuel prices will continue to rise

quit yer whining you have the lowest gas prices around we already pay $5 per gallon before taxes and exchange rates

They should ban toll roads anywhere in the US. There is already a gasoline tax, that's just double dipping.

[QUOTE=A_Pigeon;45147497]quit yer whining you have the lowest gas prices around we already pay $5 per gallon before taxes and exchange rates[/QUOTE] AND HERE WE GO! Lets see how long before the thread gets killed

[QUOTE=Ardosos;45147728]They should ban toll roads anywhere in the US. There is already a gasoline tax, that's just double dipping.[/QUOTE] the toll goes towards fixing the road... its been a long american tradition of having toll roads [editline]18th June 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=A_Pigeon;45147497]quit yer whining you have the lowest gas prices around we already pay $5 per gallon before taxes and exchange rates[/QUOTE] your gas contains massive amounts of octane ours is barely flamable compaired to that stuff and yours takes longer to refine, IE your gas is more expensive to make so zip it

[QUOTE=Ardosos;45147728]They should ban toll roads anywhere in the US. There is already a gasoline tax, that's just double dipping.[/QUOTE] More often than not, toll roads are used to pay for the construction of a road AFTER it's constructed. In other words, traffic density may make a road a necessity to reduce congestion, but the state may not have the funds to construct it. So they will build it anyways and recoup the costs with a toll.

[QUOTE=Silence I Kill You;45147058]Not really. Cars have been getting more fuel efficient over the years, so the revenue of taxing by gallon of gas is going to drop. This allows us to have a steady income for our roads and bridges no matter how fuel efficient, or what type of fuel your vehicle uses. For instance, for every EV that hits the road, that's less tax being paid to use the road, with the same amount of usage.[/QUOTE] Road wear is near negligible amounts when you're talking about cars, it's the semi-trucks that cause almost all wear on our roads and the trucking and shipping companies should be the ones paying the majority of our road repairs.

Yay Holland, We pay 10$ a gallon. Fuck this country :suicide:

[QUOTE=Sableye;45147837] your gas contains massive amounts of octane ours is barely flamable compaired to that stuff and yours takes longer to refine, IE your gas is more expensive to make so zip it[/QUOTE] You have that the other way around, actually. The lower the octane rating the more explosive the fuel is. Common misconception, you actually get more power and torque out of your engine burning 87 than you do 91, all other things equal. In most passenger cars you get better bang for your buck running the lowest octane fuel your engine supports. Which, for most American vehicles, is 87. You should only use higher octane fuels if your engine requires them. What that higher octane does is reduce detonation. Detonation is a bad bad thing, your fuel needs to smoothly burn inside the engine. If it explodes on every cycle it will quite literally hammer your rod bearings into dust, on higher performance engines(IE Corvette, Mitsu Evo X, Suby WRX STI, etc etc) it can even shatter pistons. The reason high performance engines need the higher octane fuel is because they have such a high compression ratio that detonation is unavoidable on the more flammable, lower octane fuels. And why, pray tell, do high performance and high efficiency engines have higher CRs? The more you squeeze the fuel the more energy you get out of it in return. My old pickup has an 8.5:1 compression ratio, itt'l burn pretty much anything that can loosely be called gasoline. Itt'l even burn stale gas just about as well as it does fresh gas. It truly gives no fucks. But it also only makes ~125HP or so out of 5 liters. If I bumped my CR up to a more modern 10.5:1, something I easily could do, I'd see my output jump up to nearly 300HP overnight. I'd probably also see a 20 or 30% jump in fuel economy. I'd also need to run 89 octane gasoline or convert to fuel injection to avoid detonation. If I took it another step further and went to a 12:1 compression ratio I'd be on the border of needing avgas, seeing as the engine was never designed to go anywhere close to that level. Fuel injection would be a must. And I'd also be pulling roughly 100 HP per liter. This, funnily enough, is also why diesels are the kings of fuel economy. They run CRs in the neighborhood of 18:1 to 25:1. As I mentioned, the more you squeeze the fuel/air charge before you burn it the more energy you extract from it. [editline]18th June 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Silence I Kill You;45147888]More often than not, toll roads are used to pay for the construction of a road AFTER it's constructed. In other words, traffic density may make a road a necessity to reduce congestion, but the state may not have the funds to construct it. So they will build it anyways and recoup the costs with a toll.[/QUOTE] And then keep charging that toll long after the bill's paid because hey fuck the motorists! Should be a law stating toll booths are shut down the moment the road's construction bill is paid.[QUOTE=Keegs;45147889]Road wear is near negligible amounts when you're talking about cars, it's the semi-trucks that cause almost all wear on our roads and the trucking and shipping companies should be the ones paying the majority of our road repairs.[/QUOTE] And they already do. Have you seen the comparison of Diesel and Gasoline in the US, where only commercial vehicles and heavy duty pickups use it, and the same comparison in Europe where most everybody is using it? You'll notice pretty quickly that commercial vehicles are definitely paying their share.

[QUOTE=TestECull;45148162]What that higher octane does is reduce detonation.[/QUOTE] Easier way to explain it would be octane is its resistance to ignition, higher the number the harder it is to ignite, which stops the fuel from autoigniting during the compression cycle of the engine. Not everyone knows what detonation is or how engines work, though its kind of hard to simplify it more than this.

Here's a picture I like to post every time someone says Americans shouldn't be bitching about gas prices. [img]http://blog.old-and-bold.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/US-UK-size-comparison.jpg[/img] I have a fifty mile round trip per day for work, paying roughly forty bucks a work-week in gas.

[QUOTE=SomeENG;45148673]Here's a picture I like to post every time someone says Americans shouldn't be bitching about gas prices. [img]http://blog.old-and-bold.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/US-UK-size-comparison.jpg[/img] I have a fifty mile round trip per day for work, paying roughly forty bucks a work-week in gas.[/QUOTE] I understand your point but man, you should try a 140 mile commute 5 days a week :/

You, uh, ever thought about moving closer

[QUOTE=Code3Response;45148740]You, uh, ever thought about moving closer[/QUOTE] Right, because I have several grand lying around to put first and last down on a non shit-hole in the city.