That said, the Federal government has shown itself untrustworthy at every turn over the last 30-40 years. We always want to raise taxes, and then promise to (eventually?) cut spending… except the spending cuts never seem to come.

So, first cut spending, to build trust in the political process, then evaluate tax increases. I just hope we can actually follow through and cut. Obamacare alone could bankrupt us (Oh, yeah, we already are!).

At the same time I vigorously oppose those who would raise the gas tax for purely punitive reasons, e.g., the GM executive who supports a $1 increase/gallon. In general, an excise tax is regressive, taking a whole lot more out of the back pockets of the poor (in terms of percentage-of-income) than it ever will for the high-rollers. There are lot of poor folks (and small businesses) in this country that are currently struggling just to keep a roof over their heads, and the very last thing they need is punitive level of taxation that is levied totally without regard to ability to pay — that, indeed, would be the cruelest tax.

Please note I just picked bridges that are deficient or need replacement. That does not include the about 1/2 trillion dollars needed to do all of the other work.

So Tim, I do think we need the money. It is also a good time to do the repair work. So man construction workers are out of work, and this should be able to go on until the housing industry gets back on its feet in a few years.

Carbon tax is good, but I dont think any Americans are ready to accept that. Nor the Germans, they are going to replace nuclear with coal which means they dont want to pay carbon tax. Neither the Japanese as they are replacing Nuclear with Fossil fuels.

As for the ceiling, we cannot keep on increasing. If the debt crosses 100% of GDP, it will trigger an automatic rating cut. Already the Chinese Agency has cut the rating to AA and now to A. Currently the debt is 98% of GDP. The more the debt, the more the interest payment which is going to be in addition to oil bills.

But the good news here is that the price of solar panel has gone down to $2.84 / watt as per solarbuzz. Expect Solar to start replacing Coal in the next 5 years.

I agree with all but your last sentence. I think the reason S&P cut us from AAA is from the political debacle of not doing a simple debt ceiling increase. The recession had a few more causes. Like the home mortgage CF. This recession will be really hard to get out of because of the TEA Party and that housing is going to be down for at least four more years. No need to build houses when so many cheap foreclosed homes are on the market. Does not matter who we elect, the housing market is not a fixable problem. We maybe able to change the time/max pain ratio, but that is about it.

I am making an assumption that the toll is in addition to an at the pump carbon tax. The carbon tax pays for the pollution and the toll for ware and tear. When you look at the amount of ware and tear a Prius does, you may not want to spend the money to send the bill.

In 1950s Congress allotted some $75 billion to build the interstate highways and this is the money America earned by exporting goods to Europe and other countries. These highways did a lot of good for this country by helping people go from 1 place to another.

However today people have started buying massive vehicles which apply so much pressure and the roads break up after rain & snow. Add the 18-wheelers used by companies. So we are just enjoying what is laid in 1950s and in the coming years, it will cost more and more to maintain these roads. Apart from the gas tax also 2% of our income taxes goes for highway maintenance.

Its high time, we also use other means of transport like Air & Rail and Bus so that we don’t spend more money on road maintenance. Ideally there is going to be a meter in every vehicle and at the end of the month the DMV will sent a bill to every household and based on the vehicle’s weight and miles drive they can calculate the toll cost. This will be fair for everyone whether you own a Gas powered vehicle or EV or Flexfuel vehicle.

This will also encourage carpooling. Its the money drain of dollars to OPEC countries that has brought this worst recession and the rating cut from AAA to AA.