[ATIzed]

Coming from the current Democrat-controlled congress which has received the lowest approval rating in history and perhaps given the times we are in, the worst congress ever, which also has produced two awful presidential candidates, these things should be no surprise by now I guess:

The political vision of a summer gas tax holiday died a quick death in Congress, losing to a view that federal excise taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel — far from dropping — will have to go up if they go anywhere.

Just three years ago, that trust fund enjoyed a surplus of $10 billion. Even without a tax freeze, the fund is projected to finish 2009 with a deficit of $3 billion. That could grow as Americans drive less and buy less gas because of higher pump prices.

and

"We'll put all things on the table," Oberstar said, but the gas tax "is the cornerstone. Nothing else will work without the underpinning of the higher user fee gas tax."

FOXNews.com - Lawmakers Could Consider Gas Tax Hike, After Gas Tax Holiday Fails - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

Again the solution with the lowest rated congress ever is tax, and never seems to be to try and cut any funds elsewhere, prioritize and really scrimp, or work on other solutions. As a nation we cannot afford things anymore, yet you look at the government- Bush admin and Congress and they seemingly haven't gotten the memo yet.

On a side note, with the rapid decline of our nation due to mismanagement and corruption on probably every level of government, and the astonishingly rapid devaluation of our currency as Bush and company bail out banks and print up more billions for AIDS in Africa, perhaps we won't be far behind Zimbabwe:

Zimbabwe, grappling with a record 2.2 million percent inflation, has introduced a new 100-billion-dollar bank note in a bid to tackle rampant cash shortages, the central bank said Saturday.

AFP: Zimbabwe introduces 100-billion-dollar note

[Jackalope]

To me the gas tax is the best tax we have (as in it sucks the least). It is closer to an ideal tax than any other taxes levied against us.

The money collected in gas taxes are used to fund road projects. The more you drive, the more gas you use, and the more money goes to fixing roads. Don't drive as much? you don't pay in as much.

It's as close to "privatization" as the US can get for roadways without resorting to making every road a toll road.

[mistawiskas]

Well, the surplus of a few years ago went into a defficit, because t feds are fixing the broken infrastructure that led to having a surplus to begin with.
Face it guys and gals, we simply cannot win. We cut down on our driving because we can't afford, or do not want gas prices to cut into our food budgets. Only to have the feds squeeze what we save out of us. It's the same with all energy sources. There are taxes packed into all of them and the less we use to save money or to reduce the skyrocketing cost, the more the guv is going to squeeze out of us because they have gotten fat, wastefull and lazy. If half the porkbarrel and shear waste were cut from our federal budget..........................problems solved. fucking government is like a spoiled rotten rich kid that demands to have it's way no matter what. And throws huge temper tantrums whenever it doesn't get it's way or has to actually do something that takes a tiny amount of effort.[/rant]

[MSP]

If you think this is bad, vote for Obama and watch the Democrats use two branches of our government to tax us to death. Just look at California and New York. The liberal paradises are running massive deficits despite having the highest tax rates in the country. Think Russian bread lines.

[mistawiskas]

Originally Posted by MSP

If you think this is bad, vote for Obama and watch the Democrats use two branches of our government to tax us to death. Just look at California and New York. The liberal paradises are running massive deficits despite having the highest tax rates in the country. Think Russian bread lines.

some of us are already there.....only there is no bread lines in america. i make just enough to pay taxes, but too much to get any form of help.

[MSP]

The more things handled by the private sector the better. At least a greedy company has to market a product to the masses. The greedy government can just keep reaching into our pockets as often as they like and provide no product at all. Socialism and communism suck worse than capitalism.

[ThatHideousStrength]

So do people still think America is the greatest country in the world?

[JustinL]

Originally Posted by ThatHideousStrength

So do people still think America is the greatest country in the world?

Absolutely.

[hans5849]

Hati is looking good.

[MSP]

To those who don't think this is the greatest place, and are not actively participating to make it so, I recommend you relocate to elsewhere. The problems we're facing as a nation are going to require everyone pulling together and frankly we don't need any dead weight on the line.

[ninefivezero]

Originally Posted by MSP

If you think this is bad, vote for Obama and watch the Democrats use two branches of our government to tax us to death. Just look at California and New York. The liberal paradises are running massive deficits despite having the highest tax rates in the country. Think Russian bread lines.

Riiiiiight.

TaxProf Blog: Comparison of the McCain and Obama Tax Plans

Here is the bottom line:

If enacted, the Obama and McCain tax plans would have radically different effects on the distribution of tax burdens in the United States. The Obama tax plan would make the tax system significantly more progressive by providing large tax breaks to those at the bottom of the income scale and raising taxes significantly on upper-income earners. The McCain tax plan would make the tax system more regressive, even compared with a system in which the 2001–06 tax cuts are made permanent. It would do so by providing relatively little tax relief to those at the bottom of the income scale while providing huge tax cuts to households at the very top of the income distribution.

FactCheck.org: Tax Tally Trickery

It's true that most of the votes the GOP counts would either have increased taxes for some, or set budget targets calling for such increases. But by repeating their inflated 94-vote figure, the McCain campaign and the GOP falsely imply that Obama has pushed indiscriminately to raise taxes for nearly everybody. A closer look reveals that he's voted consistently to restore higher tax rates on upper-income taxpayers but not on middle- or low-income workers. That's consistent with what he's said he'd do as president, which is to raise taxes only on those making more than $250,000 a year.

[ivwshane]

Originally Posted by MSP

If you think this is bad, vote for Obama and watch the Democrats use two branches of our government to tax us to death. Just look at California and New York. The liberal paradises are running massive deficits despite having the highest tax rates in the country. Think Russian bread lines.

Oh noes the democrats are coming!!

[mistawiskas]

California and NewYork eh? Is it a coincidence that those two states have the biggest centers of commerce in this country? What does this say about the rich and corporate strenth in this country?

check out the 2 cities with the most billionaires: (not per capita)
USA TODAY Education - Careers TODAY

the defense rests.

[tweakmonkey]

Oh, Fox News!

Gas is still half the price here that people pay in most countries around the world. I laugh when I drive past the car dealerships and they're completely packed with trucks and SUVs that nobody wants now.

[MSP]

I won't deny that the Republicans have lost their way. They're mostly liberals in conservative clothing these days. We need a true fiscal conservative, I don't care which side of the aisle they come from. As for the social agenda? I don't give a shit. Let the fags marry and PBS continue their funding for all I care.

FactCheck.org has a bit of a liberal bias by the way. Not horrible, but I wouldn't call them unbiased.

[ivwshane]

Originally Posted by MSP

FactCheck.org has a bit of a liberal bias by the way. Not horrible, but I wouldn't call them unbiased.

Reality has a liberal bias

[MSP]

So true. Take that do-nothing Democratic congress for example...

[Jishory]

Originally Posted by tweakmonkey

Oh, Fox News!

Gas is still half the price here that people pay in most countries around the world. I laugh when I drive past the car dealerships and they're completely packed with trucks and SUVs that nobody wants now.

I was at a party last night and I was talking to one of my friends about how I want to get a dodge truck with the cummins engine in it because i have been driving alot less and taking my bike and i would be able to afford it better and he had come to the conclusion that because all of the plants were closing and all of the companies that still need fullsize trucks will still need them the prices of trucks will go way up soon, i asked what was he smoking and may i have some

[Phant0m51]

I don't think congress understands that the reason we're driving less is because of high gas prices. If they raise taxes on gas, that will cause people to drive even less because we won't be able to afford to drive anywhere.

Makes a whole lot of sense to me!

[mistawiskas]

It must be a releif to start having money problems, and just crank up the taxes instead of cut costs like the people who pay the taxes do. Are our representatives to congress better than us or something?