Apparently, it doesn't matter which side of the political aisle you're on, as this article in the P-I shows - if you want to pay for road improvements, add to the gas tax. People in the state of Washington already pay 28 cents in tax money for every gallon of gas purchased, and state legislators want to increase that? We pay, on average, 5 cents per gallon more than the rest of the nation.
What I think our legislators need to do is:
- Spend a year living at or near the state 'poverty line', to see the real impact of the regressive taxes in this state on those in the lower income brackets, before they can even propose legislation to increase existing taxes, or create new taxes (I know - it's a fantasy idea that will never happen);
- Failing that, each legislator needs to look at programs that they are responsible for to see what bloat (all government programs have bloat) can be cut without hurting those less fortunate, or endangering the public in some way (such as not properly maintaining bridges, for example);
- Freeze spending increases.
- Much as I'm loathe to suggest this, replace the existing regressive tax system, which is based on the costs of goods and/or services, with a state income tax, which would at least be based on people's incomes. I would also suggest that there be a minimum income dollar amount established whereby those at or below that level are exempt from paying any tax whatsoever (of course, that last part might be a pipe dream too).
From what I have been able to glean from various sources, our legislators aren't even attempting to look at ways to cut spending, just looking for more ways to tax the citizens of Washington. Twenty eight cents per gallon is already too high of a tax for some in this state; increasing that without even trying to cut spending first is despicable in my book.
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