Noxious – The gasoline tax is a terrible idea

It is bad enough that those of us who use the roads and tunnels in this area are going to be raped by the idiots at the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority who have just voted to raise the tolls outrageously at the end of March.

It is worse that the Legislature, the governor and even the Boston Chamber of Commerce, are all asking for the gasoline tax to be raised – and in the case of the Boston Chamber of Commerce – they are asking that it be raised 25 cents a gallon in order to stave off the higher tolls.

One poison is to be traded for the other.

Just at the moment when drivers across the state are experiencing the lightened weight of paying for gasoline that has gone down dramatically in price during the worst economy since the Great Depression, the government wants to take away a portion of that savings to contribute it to the Big Dig overrun costs.

Great, isn’t it?

Especially unnerving and particularly unfair to those of us who own our own businesses and who watch every expenditure carefully is that those suggesting to raise the gasoline tax are legislators who couldn’t run a corner store profitably, let alone a state government.

The cash shortfall in Massachusetts is approaching $3 billion in the next year.

Why is there no rush to make the cuts in state expenses to spare the taxpayers a bloodbath?

Why are there no calls for dramatic pension reform, for consolidation of state departments, for concessions about employee raises for which there is no cash?

The Legislature is doing what it knows how to do best – tax and spend.

We can all bet that the gasoline tax, if it is raised, will be raised again and again as time goes by, as the Legislature does nothing to bring spending in line with income.

There is something wrong with government when it is absent of leadership.

Leadership implies that some courage must be shown to call a farce, a farce.

The way Massachusetts state government is run is a farce.

We’re told that the Legislature is working hard, but at what, we’d like to know?

About the only thing the Legislature wants to do is to maintain the status quo.

The ship is taking on water. The ship is listing. Without great care during these treacherous times, the ship is going to sink – and we’re all sailing on the same ship.

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