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This is a really cheap refute. If gas taxes are regressive, then build the infrastructure so they won’t be. If poor people are dependent on cheap gas for drivin

This is a really cheap refute. If gas taxes are regressive, then build the infrastructure so they won’t be. If poor people are dependent on cheap gas for driving to work, increase the bus coverage and frequency, build new rail lines (and electrify existing once) for congested routes, zone cheaper housing closer to where people work and build safe bike lanes, heck even subsidize electric cars if everything else is too radical. Do this along with raising gas prices and they won’t be regressive. EDIT: And to raise the hammer home. Biden also said no to the Green new deal. The electrification of CalTrain, and the California High Speed rail are experiencing slowdowns because of lack of funding. ST3 in Seattle is at risk of being delayed because of lack of funding. Amtrak is getting the most modest of all expansions. Bus networks in mid-sized American cities are a poor as they ever were and no change in the maps. I think that gas taxes “being regressive” is not the real reason that Biden and other politicians are not raising the gas prices.

supertrope 5y ago
Voters reject public transit taxes because they can’t imagine themselves riding. There is a huge blind spot on the cost of roads. Never raising gasoline tax and continuing to mandate minimum parking just shifts the cost of driving from motorists to general taxpayers.
- runarberg 5y ago
  Even this, for me, seems like a lousy excuse a politician would make. Even if true, a good politician should be able to convince the general public that this is a good idea. So far politicians that advocate for public transit as a remedy for our inevitable step away from fossil fuels are hard to find. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bears mentioning here a one of few who does. Among my local politicians, state senetor Joe Nguyen goes a step further and advocates for public transit as social justice issue (as well as a climate one). The badies are easier to find. California Governor Gavin Newsom stresses the importance of tackling the climate crises, yet is not funding necessary infrastructure project which would make the transformation easier. Europe is also full of the Gavin Newsom types. And this is sad because most people are in favor of radical climate policies. So convincing the public of a good climate policy should be easy (this is also [probably] true of the west coast states). In my opinion, if dealing with the climate disaster is as important as these politicians correctly claim it to be, then they should commit to it. Failing to do so reflects how bad they are at politics and honestly they should probably find a new career where they will do less damage.
  - mercutio2 5y ago
    What makes you think Newsom has the power to fund anything? Governors don’t control taxation. They control the executive branch, not the legistlature.
    - runarberg 5y ago
      He has the power to influence the legislator, and he hasn’t been shy about using that power to speak against funding green infrastructure since he took office.

supertrope 5y ago

Voters reject public transit taxes because they can’t imagine themselves riding. There is a huge blind spot on the cost of roads. Never raising gasoline tax and continuing to mandate minimum parking just shifts the cost of driving from motorists to general taxpayers.

runarberg 5y ago
Even this, for me, seems like a lousy excuse a politician would make. Even if true, a good politician should be able to convince the general public that this is a good idea. So far politicians that advocate for public transit as a remedy for our inevitable step away from fossil fuels are hard to find. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez bears mentioning here a one of few who does. Among my local politicians, state senetor Joe Nguyen goes a step further and advocates for public transit as social justice issue (as well as a climate one). The badies are easier to find. California Governor Gavin Newsom stresses the importance of tackling the climate crises, yet is not funding necessary infrastructure project which would make the transformation easier. Europe is also full of the Gavin Newsom types. And this is sad because most people are in favor of radical climate policies. So convincing the public of a good climate policy should be easy (this is also [probably] true of the west coast states). In my opinion, if dealing with the climate disaster is as important as these politicians correctly claim it to be, then they should commit to it. Failing to do so reflects how bad they are at politics and honestly they should probably find a new career where they will do less damage.
- mercutio2 5y ago
  What makes you think Newsom has the power to fund anything? Governors don’t control taxation. They control the executive branch, not the legistlature.
  - runarberg 5y ago
    He has the power to influence the legislator, and he hasn’t been shy about using that power to speak against funding green infrastructure since he took office.