We've got a huge state's rights vs state's responsibilities issue. As much as folks like to say they don't like big government, The second that the federal government starts doing something for the states, the states wash their hands of the matter, refused to do anything for themselves, and spend the money on something else. (Dennis Miller, before he became a libertarian, once said, I'd like to say this issue should be up to the states, but the states can't keep their highways paved.)
The point being, we handout Federal highway money on a per capita basis, not on eight needs basis, and California and Montana and Missouri and Florida and Virginia and New Hampshire all have specific and unique requirements.(good God, have you ever driven through the middle of Missouri? Not Kansas City or St. Louis, but the spiderweb of county and state roads the crisscross that vast no mans land? )
So, I don't know The math behind the problem to say whether the gas tax needs to go up or go down, but I think it's safe to say that it needs to be more directly linked to that regions infrastructure maintenance requirements, and not just go into the big pot.
(Aside: An economics professor once put it this way: as long as we are importing plastic fake dog poop on a barge from China, instead of making it here ourselves, gas is, in the big picture, relatively cheap.)
@saodell A big part of why we can do thst is containerized dhipping makes it cost effective to build gigantic ships that allow the cost per container to be better diributed
@nadroj Obviously. But marine diesel, JP-8, and Chevron high-test all come from the same dinosaur. Decisions are made along the way whether to push a Maersk sealand container, heat granny's living room, or drive your minivan with it. And as long as it's cost-effective to do stupid shit with these dead dinos, then "gas" is relatively cheap. Saw a lady at my kid's preschool sitting in her Hummer with the engine idling for 20 minutes. An hour later, ran into her at the pump, and she's complaining that gas is back up over $2.00. Sorry, but if you're using a Hummer to charge your iPhone, then gas is cheap. (No idea what I said that in any way implied a connection between the various competing demands for fossil fuels and highway taxes.)
@saodell It may all come from the same dinosaur, but the three are not interchangeable. Crude consists of various mixtures of various types and weights of hydrocarbons. Fractional distillation separates the crude into the various types, but they only get out of it what the crude has in it. Sure, JP is essentially kerosene, and diesel is essentially heating oil, and Chevron high-test is a different animal (so to speak), and the process to convert one into the other is usually not financially worthwhile.
@nadroj Hell yes! We need to get some REAL Progressives in office and get a new New Deal. We made this country the greatest in the world once and we can do it again!
There is also a problem with the available technology to rebuild roads. In California, they developed a machine that eats old road, reuses something like 80% of the material, and immediately places brand new road. It takes 4 employees to manage this plus a few truckers removing the unused material and bringing in the required agents. The usage of the machine massively reduced the cost and time for road repair/replacement.
It was turned down for use because it would get rid of jobs.
What is depressing is how little oversight the state and local governments have to answer to. I live in a state that has pumped out over a billion dollars to build stadiums for privately held companies and who had a very public bridge collapse. Sexy or not, all it will take is the wrong kind of accident to make this a priority and it will have been completely avoidable. (It's Minnesota. I live in Minnesota. We elected Jesse Ventura to be our Governor once.)
That's a great segment! I'll say it: raise the gas tax.
We've got a huge state's rights vs state's responsibilities issue. As much as folks like to say they don't like big government, The second that the federal government starts doing something for the states, the states wash their hands of the matter, refused to do anything for themselves, and spend the money on something else. (Dennis Miller, before he became a libertarian, once said, I'd like to say this issue should be up to the states, but the states can't keep their highways paved.)
The point being, we handout Federal highway money on a per capita basis, not on eight needs basis, and California and Montana and Missouri and Florida and Virginia and New Hampshire all have specific and unique requirements.(good God, have you ever driven through the middle of Missouri? Not Kansas City or St. Louis, but the spiderweb of county and state roads the crisscross that vast no mans land? )
Siri: that was "a needs," not "8 needs."
So, I don't know The math behind the problem to say whether the gas tax needs to go up or go down, but I think it's safe to say that it needs to be more directly linked to that regions infrastructure maintenance requirements, and not just go into the big pot.
(Aside: An economics professor once put it this way: as long as we are importing plastic fake dog poop on a barge from China, instead of making it here ourselves, gas is, in the big picture, relatively cheap.)
@saodell A big part of why we can do thst is containerized dhipping makes it cost effective to build gigantic ships that allow the cost per container to be better diributed
@saodell Also, marine diesel is not subject to the highway tax discussed in the video.
@nadroj Obviously. But marine diesel, JP-8, and Chevron high-test all come from the same dinosaur. Decisions are made along the way whether to push a Maersk sealand container, heat granny's living room, or drive your minivan with it. And as long as it's cost-effective to do stupid shit with these dead dinos, then "gas" is relatively cheap. Saw a lady at my kid's preschool sitting in her Hummer with the engine idling for 20 minutes. An hour later, ran into her at the pump, and she's complaining that gas is back up over $2.00. Sorry, but if you're using a Hummer to charge your iPhone, then gas is cheap. (No idea what I said that in any way implied a connection between the various competing demands for fossil fuels and highway taxes.)
@saodell It may all come from the same dinosaur, but the three are not interchangeable. Crude consists of various mixtures of various types and weights of hydrocarbons. Fractional distillation separates the crude into the various types, but they only get out of it what the crude has in it. Sure, JP is essentially kerosene, and diesel is essentially heating oil, and Chevron high-test is a different animal (so to speak), and the process to convert one into the other is usually not financially worthwhile.
The plastic dog poop is made from petrochemicals as well, although I'm not sure what bearing that has on funding infrastructure investment.
Rock on, I guess.
Maybe we need a new WPA.
@nadroj Hell yes! We need to get some REAL Progressives in office and get a new New Deal. We made this country the greatest in the world once and we can do it again!
There is also a problem with the available technology to rebuild roads. In California, they developed a machine that eats old road, reuses something like 80% of the material, and immediately places brand new road. It takes 4 employees to manage this plus a few truckers removing the unused material and bringing in the required agents. The usage of the machine massively reduced the cost and time for road repair/replacement.
It was turned down for use because it would get rid of jobs.
@Bogie From having driven in southern california, I think the advanced piece of tech they desperately need is 'a steamroller'
@hoborg That's one way to deal with the unions.
Love John Oliver. Never miss his show. But, damn, it can be depressing!
I'm the best damn inspector in the business. And I'm here to inspect this dam.
What is depressing is how little oversight the state and local governments have to answer to. I live in a state that has pumped out over a billion dollars to build stadiums for privately held companies and who had a very public bridge collapse. Sexy or not, all it will take is the wrong kind of accident to make this a priority and it will have been completely avoidable. (It's Minnesota. I live in Minnesota. We elected Jesse Ventura to be our Governor once.)