The other week the weather people predicted really nasty storms. I knew the gutters needed cleaning, immediately.
Right after I married I bought a six foot ladder. The ladder came with us when we bought the house, and, back then I could stand atop the ladder (on the platform noting NOT A STEP) and stretch to get on the roof standing up. Today I lean over the edge and place my left shin on the roof, then inelegantly scramble up.
This time fate – in the guise of phone calls requiring trips back into the house – forced me to do the shin trick three times before the gutters were clear. When I took off my jeans I saw a raw, oozing scrape on my left shin. After I saw it the dang thing started to hurt.
The answer, of course: buy an eight foot ladder. Ladders are pricey, with $30 a foot being the rule of climb for a decent one. Still, paying $250 against more bleeding shins makes the choice easy. I’ve meant to do that for several years but never seemed to get around to it.
Likewise, our state and federal governments mean to “get around” to a lot of things, including decades delayed repairs and improvements to roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Most everyone agrees that infrastructure ought to be a major focus of government. Yet, when President Joe Biden proposes spending money to catch-up on roads, well, the Republican minority complained that America can’t afford the investment.
Likewise, here in Missouri the legislature dithered for years on getting vitally needed money for road, coming up this year with a plan to gradually raise fuel taxes without a troublesome vote of the people.
You see, the last several tax proposals went down in flames because for decades Missouri Republicans screamed that the state doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Even though Missourians paid less than the national average in fuel taxes, haven’t raised fuel taxes in decades while the state supported more miles of highway than most states, well, most Republicans denied common sense.
The times they are a changin’… The latest from Washington points to Biden getting at least a trillion and maybe all the two trillion he seeks for infrastructure. And, in Jefferson City a combination of Democrats and about a third of the Republicans plan to pass a modest 2½¢ per year fuel tax increase.
Two quick points:
- The majority of Republicans will not vote for the fuel tax plan. While they will take credit for road improvements in their districts, they won’t credit Democrats for making that happen.
- A fuel tax increase remains the wrong way to raise more money for roads. As I’ve long preached, higher fuel costs drive people towards more fuel efficient vehicles. In the 1970’s my dad drove Ford Galaxy 500s which got 10 miles per gallon. Today many tractor trailers get 10 mpg and even family sized SUVs get 20 to 25 miles per gallon.
A better way to fund roads starts with charging for license plates based on vehicle value, not horsepower. The owner of a 2021 Mercedes can afford $500 for two-year plates (while the family in a decade old Ford could pay just $50).
So, for once it looks like government will spend more on infrastructure. That investment is necessary and will be good for all of us.
Oh yes, after suffering injury cleaning my gutters the storms never arrived. I still need that eight foot ladder.
Glenn