Lame-duck Berger poo-poos idea of gas tax changes
We have the 11th highest gas tax in the United States. Legislators are frequently talking about revenue surpluses — how they’ve managed to collect more money than they actually need.
If you haven’t noticed, the cost of living has sky-rocketed in recent months. It seems everything costs more than it used to just a little while ago. Campaign consultants on both sides of the aisle are telling their people voters are worried about something called “affordability.” (*NO s–t.*)
Roy Cooper is out there talking the subject of affordability to death. Mike Whatley? Who knows what he’s saying. Half the electorate doesn’t even know who he is.
Republicans in Congress are busy teaming with Democrats to spend our nation further into bankruptcy. Republicans in Raleigh – blessed with this mythical, magical surplus – have dismissed the idea of giving money back to us and are looking for new things to spend said surplus on.
We recently posed the idea of suspending our outrageously high gas tax. We DO have that surplus thingie. Trump has talked about suspending the federal tax. Why NOT?
A drive-by recently caught up with lame-duck senate president Phil Berger and asked him about the idea of suspending the state gas tax. Here is his response, on video:
“It strikes me that’s more of a ‘feel good’ kind of thing than something that would actually make a whole lot of difference with reference to individuals.”
Gee. It’s interesting that our lame-duck senate president pro tem is so butt-hurt and dismissive over the idea of voters “feeling good.” All kinds of polls out there are showing that they aren’t feeling all that good. And there IS an election coming up at the end of the year.
And where does Phil get off deciding the degree of difference a policy change makes to people? It’s painful right now to go buy groceries or gas. (We currently pay almost 60 cents per gallon in taxes here in North Carolina.) Figuring out a way to make those costs go down would be music to most people’s ears.
The drive-by followed up with a question about any GOP plans to provide immediate relief to folks who are hurting right now. Berger replied: “We’re reducing the income tax.”
You’re likely not going to notice that for another year. Suspending the gas tax has much more effect than fill-ups on Sam and Suzy Smith’s family cars. Gas prices affect the cost of manufacturing and getting goods to market. Businesses are not just going to eat those gas price increases. The extra cost gets passed on to consumers. Those are some of the biggest drivers in the cost increases we’re seeing.
Suspending the tax for the short term would give an economic boost that everyone would notice. From good producers to transportation providers to folks just filling up cars and buying groceries.
Is there really nothing in the entire state bureaucracy that can be cut or defunded? Nothing? Nothing at all?
Not surprising. This is the same Phil Berger who rammed through our North Carolina Green New Deal (the total Senate rewrite of HB951), pandering to “woke” energy monopoly Duke Energy, probably on a pay for play basis, that has sent our electric bills soaring to dump cheap and reliable coal power for expensive and unreliable wind and solar.. We are now getting our latest electric rate increase, 14% as a result of that sell out to special interests.