Gas tax hike foolish idea

Gov. Frank O'Bannon had a great idea before the last election: cut the gas tax. Sure, the skyrocketing oil prices had something to do with it, but so did his re-election. It was a prime example of politics and, oddly enough, a Democrat using conservative economics. O'Bannon's motive might have been off target, but the idea was still a good one. Now that he's been elected and has successfully mismanaged the budget, O'Bannon wants to get in touch with his Democrat roots and re-instate the tax.\nTo most political observers, the reason for the reinstatement is simple. Indiana legislators, and the governor, have overspent. In fact, State Rep. David Wolkins (R-Dist. 18), who serves on the Committee on Ways and Means told the Warsaw, Indiana Times-Union, "We haven't held spending to inflation, to the cost of living or to the population growth which are all about 3 percent. We've spent more than 7 or 8 percent more than we're getting in. The proposal (House Bill 1811) is to give the majority of the revenue to county governments for local roads and bridges."\nThe bill would increase the gasoline tax to 16 cents per gallon July 1, 2002, and then raise it to 18 cents per gallon July 1, 2003. The special fuel tax would increase to 17 cents per gallon July 1, 2002.\nThe Democrats couldn't have chosen a worse time to propose the increases. Before the recent cut designed by President George W. Bush, tax rates, as a percentage of the gross domestic product, were the highest they have ever been in peacetime. The typical family pays nearly 40 percent of its income in taxes after accounting for all federal, state and local taxes. This is more than twice the rate paid by the typical family in 1955.\n Between 30 and 40 percent of the price of a gallon of gasoline comes from the tax component. For most of the 1990s, gas was so cheap that few consumers complained as these taxes crept higher, including a 1993 increase of 4.3 cents per gallon to the federal tax, for which former vice president Al Gore provided the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.\nUnfortunately one can find this kind of phenomenon in Indiana Democrats as well. When Sen. Evan Bayh was governor he promised to cut appointments and they rose 25 percent. O'Bannon is spending more than Bayh and there has been a 50 percent increase in appointments. The irony is that these were supposed to be "conservative" Democrats.\nIndiana Republicans should be celebrating the Democrats' follies. A poll conducted last year by Rasmussen Research shows that 67 percent of likely voters believe that gas taxes should be reduced in order to lower the price of gasoline at the pump. Only 14 percent disagree. Also, the survey shows that 57 percent believe that taxes collected by the government are far greater than the profits of gas station owners. Do Hoosier Democrats really want to be connected with a gas tax increase during an election year?\nAmericans are still overtaxed and with a slumping economy, now is not the time to increase rates further. Clearly the irresponsible Democrat-controlled government can't handle the money. And, just as clearly, the overburdened taxpayers who drive the economy need it.