Allred’s Transportation Plan: Huh?
I’ve always pledged to be an equal opportunity critic, and I’ve given Butch plenty of hell for ignoring the financial meltdown in the state, so now it’s time to ask Dr. Allred about his transportation stance.
Following the report that showed truckers aren’t paying their fair share of road costs, Allred conceived the following, according to reports in the Statesman:
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred aims to cut Idaho’s gas tax by 3 cents and says Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s push to raise more money for roads is misguided.
Allred would cut the tax to 22 cents per gallon, from 25 cents per gallon now, to save drivers $19.2 million annually.
He’d boost fees paid by heavy trucks by an equal amount to make up the difference.
Ok. This is nice populist rhetoric, but here’s the reality. First, there is universal agreement that no drivers are paying their fare share of transportation costs. I.W.H. Parry and K.A. Small argue in a 2005 article in the American Economic Review, i.e., the top journal in the field of economics, that gas taxes in the United States would need to rise to $1.01 per gallon (from around $.40 per gallon today) in order to cover the externalities created by accidents, pollution, and congestion. So reducing fuel taxes, as nice as that sounds, moves us in the opposite direction of optimal policy. Further, it’s totally unsustainable - we cannot finance our infrastructure needs with the current level of taxation - we certainly can’t reduce that rate.
So Allred proposes to raise taxes on truckers. Sounds like a great idea - stick it to the man. Let me just ask all you legislative observers this question: how many people think a bill that raises the gas tax on truckers would ever get out of committee? Exactly.
What we have so far in this governor’s race is no transportation solution from either candidate. Allred’s plan has no chance of becoming reality, and shouldn’t become reality - it moves Idaho away from good policy, not toward it. And after making transportation a centerpiece of his first campaign, the Governor has all but given up, his task force offering a mealy-mouthed plan to increase the gas tax by a penny in order to fund the billions of dollars in maintenance, safety, and infrastructure needs of the transportation system. That isn’t going to work either.
What’s that sound you hear? That would be legislators in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona - three of our regional competitors - getting a good chuckle as they watch themselves pull away in the transportation game.
Economic Development, Government, Infrastructure | admin August 3, 2010
