Friday, November 22, 2013

Is the Thruway really going to happen?

A bill authorizing a gasoline tax for PA (which will reach 30 cents per gallon) to fund transportation infrastructure is awaiting Gov. Corbett's signature. The promise is that this money will finally make it possible to build the CSVThruway that has been talked about for over 40 years.  Today's Daily Item has a full story on this, and the on-line version has the reactions of local business leaders:

http://www.dailyitem.com/0100_news/x1050748654/Business-Leaders-Bypass-benefits-outweigh-negatives

Building the Thruway is amazingly noncontroversial. Some people oppose it, but not a lot and not in any organized fashion (correct me if I'm wrong on that).

What might be controversial is the gasoline tax.  I recall an ad from an outside group, I believe this was in 2000, that you might also remember.  It had Keystone Cops running in circles and it was about how Al Gore had supported a federal tax on gasoline to pay for infrastructure.  That tax was so controversial that it had to be repealed.  That was a 5 cent per gallon tax. 

PA's new tax will  be 30 cents per gallon.  Gov. Corbett, at the same time, is going to push for more sweetheart deals for natural gas (fracking) operations--so I predict we'll hear about how we should switch to natural gas for both home and car if want to save money.  Still, most people at the lower end of the economic spectrum are not going to buy an electric hybrid or a natural gas powered vehicle, and will feel this new gasoline tax. If it turns out that the money never gets to the Thruway, we'll know that we have been the victims of a huge bait and switch. It's hard not to be skeptical given how many times we've had our hopes dashed on this one.