So much for a Nissan Leaf!

[Blade Breaker]

Some information:
Five myths about your gasoline taxes - CNN.com (from 2011)

The federal gas tax has remained unchanged at 18.4 cents for a gallon of gasoline (and 24.4 cents for diesel) for nearly two decades. It is not indexed to the price of crude oil or inflation, so Americans pay a fixed amount whether oil prices are high or low. Ironically, given today's debate, the last time the gas tax was raised in 1993 was for deficit reduction purposes. Taking inflation into account, the gas tax has eroded to only 11 cents today. This has seriously diminished the ability to pay for infrastructure, with a purchasing power of 45 cents in gas taxes for every dollar in national highway construction costs. This means that only one-half of the transportation investments made since 1993 could be afforded today, even though GDP has grown 55% and demands (vehicle miles traveled) have grown 29%.

3. Gas taxes are unnecessary because the transportation system is paid for in other ways. Not so fast.

America's transportation system is going broke. Revenue for the Highway Trust Fund is derived almost entirely from federal gas taxes and distributed to all 50 states. It covers nearly 80% of the capital costs of federally-funded transportation projects, with states carrying the remainder. From 2008 to 2010, Congress transferred $34.5 billion from general fund revenues to make up the funding shortfall. This stopgap measure was necessary to continue projects that are already in the works. Moreover, deferred maintenance—the failure to care for existing roads and bridges—combined with lost productivity are estimated to add more than $100 billion to the national deficit annually.


http://www.c2es.org/docUploads/a-primer-on-federal-surface-transportation-reauthorization.pdf

Time To Overhaul America's Aging Bridges? : NPR

UPDATED: Drivers Cover Just 51 Percent of U.S. Road Spending | Streetsblog USA

The way we spend on roads has nothing to do with the free market, or even how much people use roads.

“Nationwide in 2010, state and local governments raised $37 billion in motor fuel taxes and $12 billion in tolls and non-fuel taxes, but spent $155 billion on highways,” writes the Tax Foundation’s Joseph Henchman. Another $28 billion of that $155 billion comes from revenue from the federal gas tax."

Fuel usage is down and tax hasn't changed in over 20 years, repair and maintenance costs are up and we are behind on keeping our bridges safe. The fact is that there is not enough money available to keep our bridges and roads in reasonable condition.

The way we spend on roads has nothing to do with the free market, or even how much people use roads.

https://cliffordlaw.com/shocking-statistics-u-s-bridge-collapses/

Age, Deterioration and Funding Remain Core Problems

Eleven percent of the nation’s 607,000 bridges were considered “structurally deficient” in 2012, according to the Federal Highway Commission.

It is an opinion that is not supported by facts that there is a better way to take care of our highways. Federal, State and Local Governments are the best we have. I support doing what we can to make them as efficient as possible.

Loren

So you think we should pay more taxes?

 

[Loren49]

So you think we should pay more taxes?

I think we should pay for safe roads and bridges along with other infrastructure and services that government does best. Its kinda like asking if we should raise money through taxes to fix the badly leaking roof of a veterans' hospital or should we think we're saving money by waiting until much more of the building is damaged.

Loren

 

[houstonscott]

I think we should pay for safe roads and bridges along with other infrastructure and services that government does best. Its kinda like asking if we should raise money through taxes to fix the badly leaking roof of a veterans' hospital or should we think we're saving money by waiting until much more of the building is damaged. Loren

So you would like government to be small and do the basics well funded, I agree, much has to go away totally. Government small like in the 50's would be fine with me. If it was created after 1959, dump it! HS

 

[Loren49]

So you would like government to be small and do the basics well funded, I agree, much has to go away totally. Government small like in the 50's would be fine with me. If it was created after 1959, dump it! HS

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytime...vernment-spending/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

The first chart, below, documents the growth in federal government spending over the past hundred years as a share of gross domestic product spending is broken down into four major categories:
1. Entitlement programs, under which I classify government expenditures on health care programs; pensions and retirement programs like Social Security; and welfare or social insurance programs like food stamps and unemployment compensation.
2. Military spending
3. Interest on the national debt
4. Infrastructure and services, under which I include everything else — the pot that is often referred to as discretionary spending: education spending; fire services, police and the criminal justice system; spending on physical infrastructure including transportation; spending on science, technology, and research and development; and the category called “general government,” which largely refers to the cost of maintaining the political system (like salaries for public officials).

Spending on entitlement programs was about $500 billion per year in 1972 in today’s dollars. If it had increased at the same rate as the gross domestic product, it would now be about $1.4 trillion. Instead, it is now about $2.9 trillion per year. What this means is that there has been about a $1.5 trillion increase in entitlement spending above and beyond gross domestic product growth. This is actually slightly larger than the overall increase in government spending relative to gross domestic product. This results from the fact that spending on the other categories has been essentially flat relative to the gross domestic product (infrastructure and services), or constitutes a negligible part of the budget for the time being (interest), or actually decreased relative to gross domestic product over the 40-year period (defense).

To clarify: all of the major categories of government spending have been increasing relative to inflation. But essentially all of the increase in spending relative to economic growth, and the potential tax base, has come from entitlement programs, and about half of that has come from health care entitlements specifically.

The growth in health care expenditures, for better or worse, is not just a government problem: private spending on health care is increasing at broadly the same rates and is eating up a larger and larger share of economic activity. It’s an immensely complicated problem, but the arithmetic is simple: if we can’t slow the rate of growth in health care expenditures, we’ll either have to raise taxes, cut other government spending or continue to run huge deficits. Or we could hope to grow our way out of the problem, but health care expenditures may be impeding private-sector growth as well.

-----Now to defuse notions that all this happened in last 6 years:
Obamacare law was

Medicare Part D "was far more expensive than the Affordable Care Act and unlike" the act, "was never budgeted

That report’s forecasts included a prediction that Part D’s general revenue outlays from 2013 through 2022 could total $852 billion but, the trustees wrote, "Medicare’s actual future costs are highly uncertain and are likely to exceed those shown by the current-law projections in this report."

As for the Obamacare law, the CBO said in a May 14, 2013, blog post that its most recent prediction of the act’s total budget impact was a July 24, 2012, estimate that repealing the law could raise the federal deficit by $109 billion ($111 billion in 2013 dollars) from 2013 through 2022.

Our ruling

The image shared on Facebook said, "Bush’s Medicare D was far more expensive than the Affordable Care Act, and, unlike the ACA, was never budgeted."

It’s a vague claim without context. Looking for a reasonable way to evaluate it, we found the Obamacare law was "funded" and Part D "unfunded" and that, using estimated 10-year costs at inception, the former was projected to save $148 billion and the latter to cost something under $501 billion (in 2013 dollars).

We rate the claim as Mostly True.



My point is that it is a very complex challenge. Not as simple as cut everything since 1959 when we were spending about 28% of GDP. We were at about 30 when the 2008 recession hit and we have yet to recover completely.

The challenge is all in the details and now we need to make up for under funding bridge repair. Our Federal Government will not be small considering the size of our economy and country. If we only funded ourt current military it would be questionable to call our government small.


Loren

 

[houstonscott]

Let's start there and wait twenty years to see if it worked! I'd be good with that, the military and post office, constitutionally mandated, dumb everything ease. HS

 

[Loren49]

Let's start there and wait twenty years to see if it worked! I'd be good with that, the military and post office, constitutionally mandated, dumb everything ease. HS

I disagree that life in the US without any of the following programs would be a better place to live:
Social programs in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Congressional oversight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
US Environmental Protection Agency
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (a considerable percentage is on defense issues)
Children

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program provide health coverage to more than 31 million children, including half of all low-income children.
Non-Disabled Adults

Medicaid provides health coverage to 11 million non-elderly low-income parents, other caretaker relatives, pregnant women, and other non-disabled adults.
Pregnant Women

Medicaid plays a key role in child and maternal health, financing 40% of all births in the United States. Medicaid coverage for pregnant women includes prenatal care through the pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and for 60 days postpartum as well as other pregnancy-related care.
Individuals with Disabilities

Medicaid provides health coverage to over 8.8 million non-elderly individuals with disabilities, including people who are working or who want to work.

Seniors &Medicare and Medicaid Enrollees

Medicaid provides health coverage to more than 4.6 million low-income seniors, nearly all of whom are also enrolled in Medicare. Medicaid also provides coverage to 3.7 million people with disabilities who are enrolled in Medicare.



Lots of hungry and sick and destitute young, disabled and seniors.

Loren

 

[houstonscott]

I disagree that life in the US without any of the following programs would be a better place to live: Social programs in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Congressional oversight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia US Environmental Protection Agency Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (a considerable percentage is on defense issues) Children Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program provide health coverage to more than 31 million children, including half of all low-income children. Non-Disabled Adults Medicaid provides health coverage to 11 million non-elderly low-income parents, other caretaker relatives, pregnant women, and other non-disabled adults. Pregnant Women Medicaid plays a key role in child and maternal health, financing 40% of all births in the United States. Medicaid coverage for pregnant women includes prenatal care through the pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and for 60 days postpartum as well as other pregnancy-related care. Individuals with Disabilities Medicaid provides health coverage to over 8.8 million non-elderly individuals with disabilities, including people who are working or who want to work. Seniors &Medicare and Medicaid Enrollees Medicaid provides health coverage to more than 4.6 million low-income seniors, nearly all of whom are also enrolled in Medicare. Medicaid also provides coverage to 3.7 million people with disabilities who are enrolled in Medicare. Lots of hungry and sick and destitute young, disabled and seniors. Loren

What makes you think all that wouldn't happen better without the Feds? HS

 

[downsizingnow48]

Oh c'mon hs get real. Instead of knee jerk oppo try to think this stuff through. You seem to have what it takes.

 

[Blade Breaker]

I disagree that life in the US without any of the following programs would be a better place to live:
Social programs in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Congressional oversight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
US Environmental Protection Agency
Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (a considerable percentage is on defense issues)
Children

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program provide health coverage to more than 31 million children, including half of all low-income children.
Non-Disabled Adults

Medicaid provides health coverage to 11 million non-elderly low-income parents, other caretaker relatives, pregnant women, and other non-disabled adults.
Pregnant Women

Medicaid plays a key role in child and maternal health, financing 40% of all births in the United States. Medicaid coverage for pregnant women includes prenatal care through the pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and for 60 days postpartum as well as other pregnancy-related care.
Individuals with Disabilities

Medicaid provides health coverage to over 8.8 million non-elderly individuals with disabilities, including people who are working or who want to work.

Seniors &Medicare and Medicaid Enrollees

Medicaid provides health coverage to more than 4.6 million low-income seniors, nearly all of whom are also enrolled in Medicare. Medicaid also provides coverage to 3.7 million people with disabilities who are enrolled in Medicare.



Lots of hungry and sick and destitute young, disabled and seniors.

Loren

Sounds like you feel government should take care of most everything. It's amazing to me that people can look at how our government operates and think it is working.

 

[Loren49]

What makes you think all that wouldn't happen better without the Feds? HS

Good morning HS,

Social Security was established after the Great Depression. Many good, honest people lost everything as unregulated banks failed. It was a very hard time. With no government involvement the recession and bank failures of 2008 would have been much worse.

Remember that for many people less SS Retirement is collected than paid for. For those who live long enough it is the opposite. Its not just free...it's a required investment. I'm glad I was forced to pay SS and medicare. On the true free market health insurance for old farts like me would be unaffordable for most people.


I challenge you to find a country with a very weak Federal Government that is a good, safe place to live.

I think we're forgotten the leaf.:thumbsup:

Loren