Wild schemes
Nobody likes high gas prices. But people seem to put an inordinate amount of emphasis on one segment of the cost of gasoline. 
There are a lot of negative externalities to driving: pollution, global warming, urban sprawl, even health problems. The gas tax is the way we make the people who cause the externalities pay for the cost.
Tim Pawlenty just vetoed a bipartisan transportation bill that included a 10 cent increase in the gas tax. Maybe, as a letter writer in the Strib suggested recently, if we rename it the "gas fee" it will be more palatable for anti-tax extremists.
Like Tim Pawlenty's new "cigarette fee". Who is he kidding? I hope Rep. Ron Erhardt re-introduces the 10-cent "transportation energy fee" tomorrow.
posted by Luke Francl @ 5:46 PM |
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3 Comments:
He referred to a sheet his staff distributed that sought to explain why "fee" was a better word than "tax" to describe the cigarette charge.
Fees, it said, are assessed on purchases that are optional, and are roughly equal to public costs incurred because of specific activities.
What a weasel.
The never ending campaign has come to Minnesota and, instead of governing, the Governor makes decisions based on what is best for his future and not the future of the state.
The American Lung Association of Minnesota has some thoughts on both the price of gasoline and the Governor's proposal to increase the cigarette "fee" by 75 cents.
1) First, there are cleaner-burning alternatives to gasoline and diesel fuel available now in Minnesota. E85 is significantly cheaper than gasoline (20-40 cents cheaper)and available at 140 Minnesota stations right now for vehicles that can use it. Biodiesel (B20) is available today at the Apple Valley Marathon station, another cleaner burning fuel. See www,CleanAirChoice.org for details.
2) The American Lung Association of Minnesota supports a higher cigarette excise tax (or fee, if you must call it that) for one reason -- we have solid evidence that higher costs per pack prevents some young people from starting smoking. When the price goes up, youth smoking goes down -- it has been demonstrated in many of the 30 states that raised their cigarette taxes in the past five years.
Bob Moffitt
Communications Director
American Lung Association of MN
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Sorry, not related but..
We Have a Deal!
It seems as though centrist members of both parties have come to agree on a compromise to end the filibuster showdown.
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