Once "They" Have It, They Don't Let Go

Federal People from both sides of the ailse will find this article by Forbes interesting. Any true conservative should be truly annoyed from a taxation perspective and I'm sure our lefty friends will use it to point to Congress and accuse the Reuplicans because they control both houses. What it does point out is that while our system is the best political system ever, there are flaws that will never go away. As voters we must be vocal and vigilant to do our part to limit. If you read the article you'll see that both sides are guilty of stuffing the "pockets" of the districts with pork and I've included a few of my "favorite" excerpts here.

These earmarks help the politically connected from coast to coast. ... $500,000 to pay for street and sidewalk work outside New York's Museum of Modern Art and $35 million to pay for road improvements around Wal-Mart Stores' corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. The point of course, is to allow each politician to put out a press release reminding constituents of his or her efforts on behalf of the district.

And yes, Minnesota is even guilty!

Some of the goodies in the bill don't even relate to America's highways. According to CQ Today, a daily briefing of congressional activity, "Limousine services, fishing-rod retailers, sight-seeing flight operators, gunsmiths and alcohol producers were among the beneficiaries of tax breaks added to the bill. …The bill also includes earmarks for bike paths, pedestrian trails and ferry terminals. … [as well as] $2.8 million for a nature preserve in Chicago, and $1.3 million for construction of a visitor center on the Mesabi trail in the city of Virginia, Minnesota."

This is why conservatives do not like raising taxes, especially if they are supposed to be "temporary". All you Hennepin County residents and stadium supporters pay close attention. Our nice little sales tax for the stadium will most likely never go away once it gets on the books:

As Heritage points out, the Highway Trust Fund was created to fund an interstate highway system that was largely completed by the early 1980s. But don't count on Congress to loosen its hold on the money. As a Cato Institute report observes, "It is now a slush fund for Congress to fund programs aimed at appeasing special interests and financing non-highway projects."

An attempt to fix the problem is being driven by one brave Republican though, Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ).

Still, even a few on the Hill are calling for change. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), whose state gets back 92% of its contributions, is pushing a reform bill that would let states opt out of the federal gas tax, in part or entirely, and so free them from compliance with many federal transportation-related regulations and mandates. "The National Interstate Highway System has been completed," said Garrett in a statement. "There needs to be a new system set in place that allows the states more discretion over the transportation programs, maximizes the resources available for our transportation system, and is more equitable for New Jersey and other donor states like it."

Good luck Scott!