Trump suggests 25 cent increase in gas tax to pay for his infrastructure plan

[Breccia]

Well, that de-escalated quickly. I guess you can only hear "No, Mr. Trump, that's ridiculous even by your standards" so many times before you give up, go home, watch TV and eat Doritos.

[Dontrike]

Well, that de-escalated quickly. I guess you can only hear "No, Mr. Trump, that's ridiculous even by your standards" so many times before you give up, go home, watch TV and eat Doritos.

The pace at which Trump says and does something stupid has become white noise. I can't even remember a quarter of the stupid shit he has done, it's all a blur.

[Deleted]

People are really upset about having to pay an extra $4.00 at the pump each time they fill up? What do you folks want? Free shit that other people have to pay for. Unless you abused the tax system to find every loophole previously, you're taking home more pay. I got an extra $100 in my first paycheck since the new tax rates took effect. If you want nice things, and you want to use them, you should be willing to pay for them. "Fair share" is never nothing.

Good point, was talking to the GF about that last night.

I would be ok with a .10-.15 cent tax. It is almost a fair usage tax, but regardless you are right in that we use the roads, why shouldn't we pay for their upkeep? I don't have a problem with that.

GF had a novel idea - put a "sin" tax on the commercial weed business in exchange for continuing to look the other way. LOL, that's thinking outside the box.

[Dontrike]

I would be ok with a .10-.15 cent tax. It is almost a fair usage tax, but regardless you are right in that we use the roads, why shouldn't we pay for their upkeep? I don't have a problem with that.

Yes, you're right, we should absolutely fix this and pay for it. What people are primarily pissed about is we just gave a group of people the exact amount needed to fund this infrastructure plan and because we gave all of those businesses $1.5 trillion, which by the way the normal American will only see a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of, we now not only get to pay for that paycheck but also the need for this. Had we put that paycheck into the infrastructure to begin with then we wouldn't need these taxes.

Taxes are not evil, in fact they are quite necessary, but you can't spend $1.5 trillion twice that quickly and expect people to be okay with it, especially when you ask them to pay for both on top of each other and when one wasn't necessary.

GF had a novel idea - put a "sin" tax on the commercial weed business in exchange for continuing to look the other way. LOL, that's thinking outside the box.

If that's the case we should put more taxes on alcohol, porn, cigarettes, guns, and anything else deemed "sin". Again, taxing is not necessarily the problem as taxes are great when appropriate, but how we got to it that is.

The gas tax definitely should have increased over time, as it hasn't increased in decades and due to inflation basically lowered by about 35%. Increasing it to appropriate levels is a good idea, but it would have been great to use that $1.5 trillion on infrastructure (which by the way the entire American infrastructure is rated at about a D or D+ nowadays) and not on the people that definitely do not need it, especially when it was under the pretense of giving it to the American people and gave no guarantee it would do so.

[Ghostpanther]

Good idea. I have no issues with it. Would help pay for all the work which needs to be done on the roads and such.

[GennGreymane]

did he cut out too much with the cut backs?

[Dontrike]

Good idea. I have no issues with it. Would help pay for all the work which needs to be done on the roads and such.

A shame we had to pay for both this and the rich at the same time. No one would hate spending it on infrastructure if we didn't just use that money for it elsewhere for those that definitely didn't need it.

[Felya]

Good idea. I have no issues with it. Would help pay for all the work which needs to be done on the roads and such.

Something Trump should have thought before giving oil companies a massive tax cut and opened shell drilling off the coast of US*.

*Excluding Florida, they had their oil catastrophe, so they are exempt. The rest of us will need to wait for people to die to get our wavers.

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A shame we had to pay for both this and the rich at the same time. No one would hate spending it on infrastructure if we didn't just use that money for it elsewhere for those that definitely didn't need it.

Corporations needed a bail out... the booming was just too little... we were breaking records monthly for several years, which just wasn’t enough.

[Lenonis]

I'm really trying to adjust to this "new" reality where democrats are the fiscally responsible party. Well, except for the freedom caucus. They still seem pretty anti-deficit spending.

(hint, it's not really new...it's just obvious that the GOP doesn't care anymore)

[Felya]

I'm really trying to adjust to this "new" reality where democrats are the fiscally responsible party. Well, except for the freedom caucus. They still seem pretty anti-deficit spending.

(hint, it's not really new...it's just obvious that the GOP doesn't care anymore)

The new reality that even Republican forum posters celebrate oil companies getting a massive tax cut, while thinking the rest of the country having a tax increase is a great idea. Fucking reverse Robin Hood...

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I just found a perfect analogy for this tax increase. It’s a billionaire asking people to donate money to him:

https://secure.donaldjtrump.com/donate

[Themius]

But your gas is too cheap. It needs to be more expensive to stop your driving the guzzlers and driving from one shop to the other that are next to each other.

Gas really isn’t as cheap as it seems as America is so huge and requires heavy driving.

[Tijuana]

You know what would have helped this infrastructure plan? The $1.5 trillion we gave to companies and businesses that had no need of it, but why spend only $1.5 trillion once when you can do it twice while taxing middle America and taking away that small bonus they just got.

#winning #MAMAGAA

I love how the left views letting people keep their own money, is somehow giving them the countries money. Bizarre.

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This topic is a bit flawed, if we are being honest. Trump's transportation secretary clarified this statement after the fact, noting that this is NOT their preference, but merely one of the ways to fund the public side of the public/private partnership being proposed.

That said, I agree with those who have said that the gas tax is regressive. But let's not pretend like we don't already have one, or that it hasn't been raised in decades. I think a modest raise would be prudent, but certainly not 25 cents.

To the core point of the tax, I think taxing those who use something (roads) more than others, is pretty fair. But, I wouldn't want ALL of the roads to be paid that way, since everyone's goods are shipped on roads, whether they themselves drive cars or not.

[Deja Thoris]

Gas really isn’t as cheap as it seems as America is so huge and requires heavy driving.

It's less than half the price it is in Europe.

[Lenonis]

I love how the left views letting people keep their own money, is somehow giving them the countries money. Bizarre.

This has a fundamentally flawed premise that individuals do not get any benefit from tax dollars. People keeping their "own" money is actually giving them the country's money because they are using tax dollars more than putting into the system. Ironically enough you "taxation is theft people" are actually advocating for forced redistribution of wealth.

[Dontrike]

Something Trump should have thought before giving oil companies a massive tax cut and opened shell drilling off the coast of US*.

*Excluding Florida, they had their oil catastrophe, so they are exempt. The rest of us will need to wait for people to die to get our wavers.

Don't forget Trump deregulating some oil drilling laws that were put there from those exact things that makes Florida exempt. Nothing like expediting some disasters and making the American people pay for them.

I love how the left views letting people keep their own money, is somehow giving them the countries money. Bizarre..

What money are we keeping? Did you forget that taxes will increase over 10 years for the middle class while the rich's won't? In the long term the average American will be paying more. Also, again madam, I'm not the left, because I'm not dumb enough to trust either side, but I'm not stupid enough to think that giving $1.5 trillion to the 1% is a great idea. Barely two months after that and we've already have something that the $1.5 trillion would have been better put towards, and yet here you are thinking it was soooooo AMAZING that we paid for the rich's next huge paycheck so we can bail them out of record breaking profits.

Seriously, how much payote do you do a day to make an idea of giving more money to people that have most of the money? Go ahead tell us all how people saving $100 a year makes up for the gas tax they are getting? Tell us all how the average person only seeing a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent is so amazing compared to the 98% of the money given to businesses for share buy backs? Tell us all how you figured this out, that you have figured out what all financial analysts say that the tax cut was so great. Go on, we'll wait while you compile your next lie and victim excuse.

[Themius]

It's less than half the price it is in Europe.

I'm not sure what point you didn't get.

Gas may be "cheaper" in America as far as prices go however due to the large amount of driving Americans need to do compared to the overwhelming majority of Europe gas "cost" per month can be much higher.

[Tijuana]

Don't forget Trump deregulating some oil drilling laws that were put there from those exact things that makes Florida exempt. Nothing like expediting some disasters and making the American people pay for them.



What money are we keeping? Did you forget that taxes will increase over 10 years for the middle class while the rich's won't? In the long term the average American will be paying more. Also, again madam, I'm not the left, because I'm not dumb enough to trust either side, but I'm not stupid enough to think that giving $1.5 trillion to the 1% is a great idea. Barely two months after that and we've already have something that the $1.5 trillion would have been better put towards, and yet here you are thinking it was soooooo AMAZING that we paid for the rich's next huge paycheck so we can bail them out of record breaking profits.

Seriously, how much payote do you do a day to make an idea of giving more money to people that have most of the money? Go ahead tell us all how people saving $100 a year makes up for the gas tax they are getting? Tell us all how the average person only seeing a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent is so amazing compared to the 98% of the money given to businesses for share buy backs? Tell us all how you figured this out, that you have figured out what all financial analysts say that the tax cut was so great. Go on, we'll wait while you compile your next lie and victim excuse.

The only reason the tax cuts only last 10 years, is because you need 60 votes to make them permanent. When your Democrats tried to use that same talking point, the GOP instantly offered to take an up or down vote, making just those cuts permanent. Guess what the Democrat response was? Crickets. So, it isn't a very good talking point, to bemoan that tax cuts expire, when you are the people who ensured that they expire.

There are two kinds of people: People who think this tax cut is a great idea, and people who don't understand the economy. The corporate response to the cut has been even better than all wild predictions.

Also, the talking point that only the mega wealthy hold stocks is ridiculous. Every single responsible middle class person has some kind of retirement plan, that is invested in stocks, one way or another. Making money is good, not bad. The sooner the left figures that out, the sooner they can field a relevant, national party in the US. The Democrats will never get the White House back telling everyone up is down, the economy is bad, left is right, paying more taxes is good, and hey let's return to the Obama economy. Good luck with that.

Casually bringing up a gas tax, in a meeting, is hardly the same as it becoming law. You would still need to get a bill to pass through the swamp, which these days, is akin to a lunar landing.

[Garnier Fructis]

The Democrats will never get the White House back telling everyone up is down, the economy is bad, left is right, paying more taxes is good, and hey let's return to the Obama economy. Good luck with that.

Fucking saving this; this shit is gold. Anyone that thinks they've won a lasting victory here are delusional.

[Tijuana]

This has a fundamentally flawed premise that individuals do not get any benefit from tax dollars. People keeping their "own" money is actually giving them the country's money because they are using tax dollars more than putting into the system. Ironically enough you "taxation is theft people" are actually advocating for forced redistribution of wealth.

It may be a flawed premise, but the premise is yours, not mine. Because I never said there was NO benefit to paying taxes. No person has ever said that, in any nation, at any time, ever in history, even one time, until now. You are engaging in massive hyperbole and straw manning.

More accurately, the public gets about half of what government costs, in real value, on a good day. A really, really good day. Basically the staff is over paid by double, and they get very little accomplished. It might be more accurate to say you get about 25 cents back, out of every dollar you send Washington, compared to leaving it in the economy.

Everyone but the ultra wealthy get more out of the system than they put in. That's just math. Really, really basic math. That doesn't magically make it a good idea to raise taxes on everyone, including the poor, which is the Democrat tax plan for about 5 consecutive presidential elections.

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Fucking saving this; this shit is gold. Anyone that thinks they've won a lasting victory here are delusional.

I'm saying as of February 17th, 2018, we are still looking for a DNC platform that can win nationally. Sure, it could be coming any day now. Any day now.....any.....day...

[NYC17]

It may be a flawed premise, but the premise is yours, not mine. Because I never said there was NO benefit to paying taxes. No person has ever said that, in any nation, at any time, ever in history, even one time, until now. You are engaging in massive hyperbole and straw manning.

More accurately, the public gets about half of what government costs, in real value, on a good day. A really, really good day. Basically the staff is over paid by double, and they get very little accomplished. It might be more accurate to say you get about 25 cents back, out of every dollar you send Washington, compared to leaving it in the economy.

Everyone but the ultra wealthy get more out of the system than they put in. That's just math. Really, really basic math. That doesn't magically make it a good idea to raise taxes on everyone, including the poor, which is the Democrat tax plan for about 5 consecutive presidential elections.

You're accusing someone of engaging in massive hyperbole...while engaging in massive hyperbole.

The long term effect of this bill on the poor is demonstrably bad. But, apparently you're cool with it because you get to say Democrats want to raise taxes on the poor.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...ealth-cut-poor

I mean, it's hard to tell. Your argument is devoid of detail and an actual fact, and is pretty much you declaring "basic math". Oh, I'ms orry i meant "really, really basic math".