THE GAS TAX INCREASE IS COMING, THE GAS TAX INCREASE IS COMING

A very business as usual Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, Bill Shuster, announced his retirement recently.   Shuster and his father (Congressman Bud Shuster) 'milked the system' with great success, focused on transportation matters like building new roads.

Bill Shuster chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Bill Shuster's involvement with lobbyists is the stuff of legend, his marriage suddenly ending in December of 2015 and Shuster revealing he was dating a female lobbyist for the airline industry. 

That may have something to do with the decisions by Shuster and dozens of other Republican insiders in the House to call it quits.   Some of the 40 plus members are actually running for other political offices.

But maybe there's another reason for their decision to call it quits like a scheme to raise taxes to help big business at the expense of the little people.  A tax increase that would doom them politically.

The US Chamber of Commerce (the "Cheap Labor Express") has called for a 25 cent a gallon gas tax hike to fund "infrastructure".

At the Republican Congressional "retreat" on Thursday, Bill Shuster called for a 15 cent a gallon gas tax hike to raise billions of dollars to fund "infrastructure" projects proposed by  President Trump.   He was interviewed by Bloomberg TV.

He rationalizes the whole thing down to its like "a cup of coffee a week.....or its two bottles of water".

Big government in Washington keeps getting bigger (in 2017 Washington DC was designated the sixth largest media market in the USA by Nielsen, moving up from seventh).

There's no sign anyone is serious about cutting the spending of the federal government or its size.

They are trimming or modifying regulations and controls, but that's a drop in the bucket in comparison to what really needs to be done.

The timing on such a tax increase is a wonder.  Can it be rigged before the election this fall with Republicans and Democrats joining forces to support it, allowing members who want to portray themselves as "Conservative" to vote against it while it passes?

Or would it be better to do it in a lame duck session during the holiday season this November and December the election behind for Republicans safely re-elected, the retiring Republicans without a care in the world and looking forward to being taken care of by special interests in their retirement.

I'll opt for the latter.

THE GAS TAX INCREASE IS COMING, THE GAS TAX INCREASE IS COMING.......

Like my father who like myself voted for Donald Trump said, the taxes to pay for the 'infrastructure' should have come from the big people, not the little ones.

Any gas tax hike will be a stain on anyone who plays a role in its enactment.