PA already has the highest fuel prices and it is going even higher by .08 (Republic: sales, real estate)

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

Agreed. I feel like gen x and the millennials were left to figure out how to clean up the prior generations transgressions all the while being told we are lazy. It is unfortunate we are saddled with major debt and societal deferred maintenance at the same time. Time to crank up the taxes, and any tax that can be tied to use of specific services that need funding is even better in my book.

As a retired state employee and a member of the baby boom generation, who has children in both the gen x and the milennial generations, I concur with all of your points, except for 2- cranking up the taxes and generational laziness. I believe that your generation(s) is/will continue to pay for others past transgressions, as well as, the long-term legacy costs associated with baby boomers aging. You, personally, may not be as directly affected by turnpike tolls and the highest fuel taxes in the country, but the majority of your generation members are. Instead of demanding accountability from our governing officials, you seem to be advocating less transparency and greater trust in the same officials that have long mislead you. Raising taxes, as expenditures increase (without looking to eradicate existing debt first) continues the cycle of tax and spend. Because a greater percentage of what my children (and you) are being forced to pay in not only direct and indirect taxation, you/they have significantly less money to devote for personal and familial necessities.

As a side note, usage taxes will have minimal impact upon aging seniors. We simply do not drive as much, nor spend as much, as those striving to make ends meet in the working world.

[Forging Steel]

Am I the only one who actually looks around and notices all of the bridge and road projects that are a direct result of this extra funding?

I don't get it, Liberty and Birmingham and Greenfield bridges were poster children for years for the inadequacy of transportation funding and now they are being repaired/replaced as a direct result of this money.

I can't help imagine that those who constantly gripe about this transportation tax are also the same ones who constantly gripe about the conditions of our roadways. And the same ones who don't comprehend the nature of the old tax and how it lost value over the years due to fuel efficiency improvements.

if you don't want to pay this tax, you are not required to. Buy a bike, use transit, purchase an electric vehicle (although eventually these will need to be taxed as well or we will have the same problem of decreasing funding as fewer vehicles require gasoline)

Open government and elimination of corruption should be a goal as well no matter your political beliefs. I am sure gg is right in that there is a lot of corruption but where we stand right now, we either pay this tax or our bridges fall down. No reason both problems cant be addressed simultaneously but very few outside of gg ever complain about this even though we all know it to be true.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Forging Steel

Am I the only one who actually looks around and notices all of the bridge and road projects that are a direct result of this extra funding?

I don't get it, Liberty and Birmingham and Greenfield bridges were poster children for years for the inadequacy of transportation funding and now they are being repaired/replaced as a direct result of this money.

I can't help imagine that those who constantly gripe about this transportation tax are also the same ones who constantly gripe about the conditions of our roadways. And the same ones who don't comprehend the nature of the old tax and how it lost value over the years due to fuel efficiency improvements.

if you don't want to pay this tax, you are not required to. Buy a bike, use transit, purchase an electric vehicle (although eventually these will need to be taxed as well or we will have the same problem of decreasing funding as fewer vehicles require gasoline)

Open government and elimination of corruption should be a goal as well no matter your political beliefs. I am sure gg is right in that there is a lot of corruption but where we stand right now, we either pay this tax or our bridges fall down. No reason both problems cant be addressed simultaneously but very few outside of gg ever complain about this even though we all know it to be true.

I've noticed a lot more construction projects and road repaving as well the last 2 years compared to what was done around 2010 or so. Many projects which are currently happening, wouldn't have happened for years if not for the extra funding. You're right about the hypocrisy with people who complain about the roads. Cars are much more fuel efficient than they were the last time the tax was raise so governments are not getting as much for roads as they did before per capita and there's also more roadways now than 20 years ago too I'd imagine.

[Forging Steel]

$1 billion more a year going to road projects than several years ago | TribLIVE

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by forging steel

am i the only one who actually looks around and notices all of the bridge and road projects that are a direct result of this extra funding?

I don't get it, liberty and birmingham and greenfield bridges were poster children for years for the inadequacy of transportation funding and now they are being repaired/replaced as a direct result of this money.

I can't help imagine that those who constantly gripe about this transportation tax are also the same ones who constantly gripe about the conditions of our roadways. And the same ones who don't comprehend the nature of the old tax and how it lost value over the years due to fuel efficiency improvements.

If you don't want to pay this tax, you are not required to. Buy a bike, use transit, purchase an electric vehicle (although eventually these will need to be taxed as well or we will have the same problem of decreasing funding as fewer vehicles require gasoline)

open government and elimination of corruption should be a goal as well no matter your political beliefs. I am sure gg is right in that there is a lot of corruption but where we stand right now, we either pay this tax or our bridges fall down. No reason both problems cant be addressed simultaneously but very few outside of gg ever complain about this even though we all know it to be true.

bingo

[gg]

Auditor General agrees Pennsylvania Turnpike debt is unsustainable | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

More debt, more debt and of course more debt.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by gg

Auditor General agrees Pennsylvania Turnpike debt is unsustainable | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

More debt, more debt and of course more debt.

PennDOT and the Turnpike are two completely separate parts of government I believe. I agree the Turnpike is a joke and a failure in its running, but I don't think it has much to say about PennDOT.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by speagles84

Ohio didn't ignore their roadway infrastructure for 50+ years.

Or did they actually do more and more efficiently?

[szug-bot]

We will work through our problems. But the millenials cannot always blame leaders of past generations.

When you lose your prominence in the once mighty steel industry, and population follows the sun belt's prosperity, there are bound to be deficiencies in how you maintain your home.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

We will work through our problems. But the millenials cannot always blame leaders of past generations.

When you lose your prominence in the once mighty steel industry, and population follows the sun belt's prosperity, there are bound to be deficiencies in how you maintain your home.

While I concede the truth in your statements, I still can't help but always have public employee pensions and other entitlements in the back of my mind. Pension accounting rules and the deliberate or at least willfully ignorant policy decisions to force funding on the backs of future generations while simultaneously telling that same future generation years later that they will also be responsible for funding their own retirements and entitlements is a very tough pill to swallow. I am sure that not a lot of folks on here are familiar with the likes of regulations like GASB 45 and the indirect impact underfunded pensions have on the need for increased taxation and reduced capital expenditures in other areas of the economy, but it is something I think about very often.

Despite the bitterness I harbor from time to time, it isn't lost on me that we need to seize whatever opportunities are presented us, pay our fair share, and look for creative ways to make our future better. It is much harder starting off in the hole, though. It also isn't lost on me that my rant has very little to do with Pittsburgh and meanders quite a bit.

To the original topic at hand, we have to pay for our infrastructure and other debts somehow. This fuel tax is one of the many ways we are being asked to do that. I hope corruption, nepotism, and unreasonable promises of benefits can also be addressed. At the end of the day, though, the best I can hope to do individually is save, contribute to the local economy, pay my taxes, and maybe one day run for public office, which is my goal if I can retire young enough to divert my attention to the public good.