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>the gas tax was created because exhaust fumes were damaging the environment and reducing air quality Do you have a source for this? Everything I have read sta
by CameronNemo 6y ago
>the gas tax was created because exhaust fumes were damaging the environment and reducing air quality
Do you have a source for this? Everything I have read states that gas taxes were first enacted to finance road construction (thereby leading to more exhaust fumes), and gas taxes in place today often dedicate the majority if not all of their funds to road building.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_State...
- mirkules 6y agoActually, I don’t have a source, it was just my assumption, so you’re probably right. But seeing the downvotes roll in, I should have known better than to question the financial motivation for an environmental study on HN.
- throwaway0a5e 6y agoPairing those questions with skepticism of government certainly didn't help.
- epistasis 6y agoI think the downvotes are about the misinformation, not the questioning! I would also point out that gas taxes do not fully fund road infrastructure, and typically cover only about half the cost, meaning that road infrastructure is heavily subsidized by other taxes. (Which if course should be the case for infrastructure, but a lot of car advocates mistakenly believe that they are pulling their own weight with gas taxes.)
- mirkules 6y agoThanks for the info. I’ve updated my original post to point out I was mistaken in my assumption.
- epistasis 6y agoAs an aside, I treasure the moments when I get downvoted in HN; it's good to at least be thinking differently enough to cause a negative reaction a small amount of the time, IMHO.