They're driving too much! TAX THEM!

Yet another example of why Big Government is the enemy of life.  I added some emphasis in red to cut to the actual information part of the article.

A special commission is urging the government to raise federal gasoline taxes by as much as 40 cents per gallon over five years as part of a sweeping overhaul designed to ease traffic congestion and repair the nation's decaying bridges and roads.

The two-year study being released Tuesday by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, the first to recommend broad changes after the devastating bridge collapse in Minneapolis last August, warns that urgent action is needed to avoid future disasters.

Under the recommendation, the current tax of 18.4 cents per gallon for unleaded gasoline would be increased annually for five years - by anywhere from 5 cents to 8 cents each year - and then indexed to inflation afterward to help fix the infrastructure, expand public transit and highways as well as broaden railway and rural access, according to persons with direct knowledge of the report, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the report is not yet public.

So just to belabor the point to death, the Big Government answer to deteriorating public infrastructure, which was built with tax money and was supposed to be maintained with tax money (but oddly seems not to have been), is to tax people to the point where they can't afford to drive anymore  and then use that NEW tax money to fix what was supposed to have been fixed with the old tax money but wasn't.  By a miracle the money will be spent to actually fix the road this time.  Maybe.

Some people on the commission appear to have a brain cell or two still firing.

The commission's chairwoman, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and two other members oppose gas tax increases and were issuing a dissenting opinion to the report calling instead for private-sector investment and tolls.

The Bush administration has said that raising taxes won't cut congestion and creates additional risks for congressional pork, such as Alaska's infamous multimillion dollar "Bridge to Nowhere," which has been scuttled.

That makes three people on the commission with a functioning cerebral cortex, they are all Republicans.  The rest are either DemocRats or wish they were.  Coincidence?

The tone of the article is designed to make these three Republicans seem obstructive and unreasonable, since they are being killjoy meanies who want to let bridges fall down to save a couple of bucks.  This explains why Reuters stock was reduced to SELL! yesterday.  The article was written by some doofus from the AP, but there's no difference between Reuters and AP.  May they join each other in the toilet of bankruptcy as soon as possible.  If you've got MSM stock, my condolences.

The Phantom Obstructionist