From Newsday:
Corzine: Maybe a gas tax hike, someday
New Jerseyans tend to pay the nation’s cheapest gas prices thanks largely to low gas taxes, but Gov. Jon S. Corzine is warning that the tax may have to go up someday to help pay for mass transit and highway needs.
The state hasn’t increased its 14.5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax since 1988, giving it the nation’s third lowest gasoline taxes.
Corzine emphasized he’s not proposing any increase now.
But he said an increase will need to be considered as the state looks to meet mass transit and highway improvements amid mounting state debt.
“It’s certainly something we have to take into consideration in regard to our transportation capital needs and financial needs for mass transit in particular, so we’ll review that,” Corzine said.
this is the right approach……provide a disincentive to use your car and plow the money back into mass transportation infastructure
cf/1 agreed. who can’t get behind taxing gas to fund more public transportation. you get some tgv-speed lines running down into NJ from NY and our economy will EXPLODE. there is hope for us yet…
btw…the ‘disincentive’ is tiny anyway, gas is double the that of the US in europe…and you think they dont drive? of course they drive but (gasp) they are all driving 4 cyl diesels and (more recently) hybrids in smaller cars with great gas mileage.
Al Gore is right now this one (as is corzine)… increase the tax and they’ll be less cars, running more fuel efficient with better public transportation (both funded and demand).
Al Gore is right ON this one…
…more like plow most of the money into shoring up the pension systems, or raising salaries for government employees, while making symbolic but ineffective “investments” in mass transit.
I wonder how much Carla pays for gas.
perhaps Jon provided lifetime prepaid.
Gas is headed for $4-5 per gallon. Question
of the Day will this effect Home Sales?
“Corzine emphasized he’s not proposing any increase now.” Go figure, June 5th Primary Elections and he doesn’t want to make waves.
Why do we have to raise taxes for mass transit improvements? Perhaps Trenton can start by trimming some fat and redirecting the money for mass transit upgrades. Let me ask this of the group. Does the STATE on NJ need a full time STATE PALEONTOLOGIST? Why can’t Rutgers take over the program with existing resources?
Remember to vote, June 5th is primary day!
Global warming?? Fact or Fiction you decide.
Roll the cost of minimum liability insurance + the cost of defending access to oil and freedom of the seas into the price of gas, and either return the offset money to taxpayers or use it to pay the debt/bail out social security.
Agreed, Otis. Once consumers become acquainted with the real cost of a gallon of gas, maybe then they’ll get serious about using it wisely. Perhaps a collateral benefit might be that Medicaid expenditures will fall, due to reduced incidences of juvenile asthma in urban centers, too.
And, yes, by all means, let’s fire the state paleontologist. But we’ll still have to deal with the other $99,999,900,000 in debt. ;)