Just One Trick Ponies
What is it with some if not most politicians whose only answer to problems is to raise taxes? We were reminded of that last month when Representative Jim Oberstar (D-Minnesota), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, proposed a “temporary” 5-cent increase in the gas tax in the wake of the I-35W bridge failure in the congressman’s home state. The increased tax would have raised $25 billion in thee years for a so-called bridge trust fund.
For "seizing an opportunity to turn tragedy into tax increases, Citizens Against Government Wasted named Oberstar the August Porker of the Month.
In bestowing that honor on Oberstar, CAGW explained in detail just how Congress wastes taxpayer dollars on “transportation:
“The 2005 highway bill contained $2 billion annually for bridge reconstruction. During its markup of the bill, the House Transportation Committee considered increasing that figure to $3 billion a year. The committee not only failed to include the higher level of bridge repair funding, it opened the door for members of Congress to stuff the bill with nearly 6,500 pork-barrel projects worth more than $24 billion, about the same amount now being sought by Rep. Oberstar with his proposed tax increase. “High-priority” transportation projects in the 2005 legislation included $452 million for the infamous “Bridges to Nowhere” in Alaska, $5 million to improve air quality in the Sacramento region of California, $4 million to develop bicycle paths and public park space adjacent to the New River in Calexico, California, and $4 million for streetscape, pedestrian improvements in Clarkson, Georgia.”
The solution? CAGW said”
“Instead of talking taxes, Chairman Oberstar should demand that Congress give the Secretary of Transportation authority to immediately transfer the billions of dollars in unobligated earmarked funds to bridge repairs.”