Ryan Holeywell reports that Congress and the Obama Administration are set against gas taxes, even as voters across the country are approving them to fund transportation and transit projects.
Holeywell looks at a study from the Center for Transportation Excellence, which says that U.S. voters approved 78% of the transportation measures in the recent election:
From the press release:
"...voters in four states approved seven transit finance measures totaling nearly $30 million in new, annual funding. Throughout 2011 voters demonstrated their support for funding public transportation with at least 21 ballot measures approved across the nation. On Election Day, the Center for Transportation Excellence monitored 11 measures relating to transit finance, construction or operations. Of this total, seven were approved in favor of new or continuing service and one statewide measure remains undecided."
Holeywell says that to be fair to elected officials, they're in a no-win situation approving transportation funding at the Federal level:
"Essentially, federal leaders have a tougher case to make, since they can't attach a specific project to the tax. But CTE's research does suggest that voters have a willingness to pay for transportation programs they think are worthy."
Read the full story: [Print] | More Voters Nationwide Choose to Pay More for Transit
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