The
steep climb in the price of gasoline, which seems to
be President George W. Bush’s latest curse, may be
a blessing to Virginians eager to see an end to the
stalemate between the Virginia House of Delegates
and the State Senate over a budget for 2006-2008.
The
public reaction to the recent price increase is much
more pronounced than it was a year ago when gasoline
was selling for more than $3 a gallon. This
recurring problem has become a major political
burden for the President and other public officials
who have become targets for those casting about for
someone to blame.
The
criticism may be unfair and misdirected. After all,
the economic factors pushing gasoline prices upward
are beyond the effective control of government.
Pointing blame at politicians is comparable to the
boy who falls off his bicycle and then kicks it, as
if the fall were the bicycle's fault.
We
are constantly reminded that life isn’t fair. But
whining about that fact isn’t constructive,
especially for politicians.
Virginia
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was undoubtedly acting to head
off any voter criticism of him for the high price of
gasoline when he announced just a few days ago that
he opposed any increase in the state gasoline tax to
pay for transportation projects. A number of state senators
who support a tax increase were dismayed by
Kaine’s announcement. They see it undermining
their position in the budget standoff with the House
of Delegates that has continued for almost two
months.
Some
in the news media described Kaine’s statement as a
crack in the coalition supporting a tax increase for
transportation as the price of getting the
coalition’s agreement to enact a state budget. It
certainly negated Kaine’s principal argument that
all factions, except the House Republican Caucus,
were in agreement on raising transportation taxes.
The
House can capitalize on this break in the pro-tax
ranks by driving home the point that a statewide
financing program for transportation no longer
serves us well. Any mix of new or increased taxes
for transportation projects that Kaine can support
would be subject to the same criticism. These taxes
will be allocated to a statewide slush fund.
Decisions about which projects to fund will be
heavily influenced by political factors.
This
political slush fund approach has led to decisions
to commit hundreds of millions of dollars for
projects such as the Coalfields Expressway instead
of, for example, a new Route 460 from Southside
Hampton Roads to Richmond. The Senate’s statewide
funding scheme perpetuates the diversions of tax
revenues collected in Northern Virginia to other
parts of Virginia where the need for transportation
improvements is far less compelling.
It’s
long past time that our elected officials
reconsidered the decades-old approach to funding
transportation projects. To make our transportation
system more efficient and more responsive to
changing needs, funding for new facilities should be
based on the actual need for each project and the
traveling public’s willingness to pay for the
project. The best way to assure that outcome is to
get away from the taxpayer-funding model.
The
project-financing approach accomplishes a number of
desirable objectives. It encourages private
risk-taking, avoids constant competition with other
programs for tax funding, provides greater equity by
putting the burden on those who use the facility,
and assures that funding is not diverted to other
programs or regions.
House
Republicans have generally supported a move in this
direction. It’s time for them to turn up the heat.
–
May 1, 2006
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