To the Editor: Because of its location and size, Rhode Island should fund the repair of its bridges and roads by reducing its tax on gasoline and diesel fuel to 20 cents per gallon. Every RI driver, (private and business), would save 16 cents per gallon.
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To the Editor:
Because of its location and size, Rhode Island should fund the repair of its bridges and roads by reducing its tax on gasoline and diesel fuel to 20 cents per gallon. Every RI driver, (private and business), would save 16 cents per gallon. Many vehicles that now pass through the state would stop and buy their fuel in her because Rhode Island would have the lowest fuel prices in New England.
Local truck stops and gas stations, located near Interstate highway ramps, would expand and improve their facilities to attract customers. Employment at RI’s fueling stations would increase. The cost of goods and services in Rhode Island would be reduced. The number of gallons of fuel sold in the state each year would more than double. Last year, 439 million gallons of fuel was sold in Rhode Island, which produced $140.6 million in fuel taxes. 878 million gallons at 20 cents per gallon would produce $176 million in fuel taxes each year, which is more than enough to repair Rhode Island’s roads and bridges.
Repairing RI’s bridges could begin immediately. There would no waiting for the gantries to be built and over $50 million would be saved in gantry construction costs.
Kenneth Berwick
Smithfield
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RISchadenfreude
Kenneth, the powers that be are running out of revenue streams to steal from; the toll fiasco is just another way to put cash into the General Fund, which is where they'll eventually vote to put it when the roads and bridges have been improved enough to pass inspection- tools are a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
RI already has the 8th highest gas taxes in the nation and the worst roads in the nation; if the revenues from fuel taxes, license and registration fees and traffic violations stayed in a highway fund where they've belonged for several decades, the GA wouldn't be finding new and creative ways to separate taxpaying drivers from their hard-earned money.
The idea that tractor-trailers are destroying the roads is a red herring, also; the weight of the vehicle is spread over more linear feet than shorter CONSTRUCTION vehicles like dump trucks and cement mixers which have a smaller, denser footprint, causing much less weight to be placed on a bridge or roadway- it's just another example of RI's long-standing anti-business attitude, and once again benefits the OC-connected construction companies, thanks to their pals in the General Assembly.
Beginning in the late 1960's into the '70's, RI State and municipal road maintenance budgets were slashed to the point where the State, cities and towns can barely fill a pothole; this trend was supported by the General Assembly and city and town councils with the collusion and support of the OC-connected construction companies who directly benefited from the need to "contract out" all construction. Now RI can't build anything without it being over-schedule, over-budget, and/or not built to code, and they have no alternative but to deal with unionized contractors.
Compare construction budgets with those for projects in other states- the first thing one notices is the inflated budgets and looong schedules for RI/New England projects
Monday, October 31, 2016 Report this