Page 16 - ATR 1 2012 web 2

News iN brief, Republicans countered that the
Continued from page 15 budget would add $11 trillion to the
national debt over a decade and that
gaS TaxES aND prIcES DoN’T the tax increases amount to $1.9 tril-
corrElaTE lion if estate taxes and other fees are
Consider the following neighbor- taken into account.
ing states’ gas tax rates and prices. All Obama’s proposal is not expected
things being equal, you might expect to pass either chamber of Congress, but
the tax rates to have a direct correlation will provide grist for the campaign trail
with retail prices. Not so much. And in as the president battles with the GOP
more than one example, one state can for control of Washington. Congress
have a higher tax rate and lower average has only passed four budgets on time in
gas prices than a neighbor state. the last 26 years.
These prices are as of February 13,
2012: ENoUgH alrEaDy
Tax Rate (cpg) Avg. Price The railroad and trucking indus-
N. Carolina 35.3 $3.61 tries finally decided, at least for a
Virginia 20.0 $3.50 while, to do what observers have long
Difference 15.3 higher $0.11 higher wished for—to send their D.C. lobby-
ists on vacation. In an unprecedented
Illinois 41.2 $3.52 joint announcement, Ed Hamberger,
Missouri 17.3 $3.30 Association of American Railroads
Difference 23.9 higher $0.13 higher chief executive, and Bill Graves, chief
executive of the American Trucking
Arkansas 21.8 $3.38 Associations, said it might be coun-
Texas 20.0 $3.44 terproductive to have the nation’s two
Difference 1.8 higher $0.06 lower transportation juggernauts “at each
other’s throats” as Congress considers a
Colorado 22.0 $3.06 major transportation bill.
New Mexico 18.9 $3.25 The truce was announced follow-
Difference 3.1 higher $0.19 lower ing the rail lobbyists successful effort
to stop a proposal to allow states to
THaT’S wITH a “T” increase the maximum truck weight
President Obama has proposed limit to 97,000 pounds. The House
a $3.8 trillion budget for congressio- Transportation and Infrastructure
nal approval. The plan for fiscal 2013 Committee failed to garner the votes to
would continue to front load stimulus keep it in the transportation bill.
programs designed to create jobs and As Arkansas Trucking Report went
essentially does nothing to reduce the to press, the five-year transportation bill
deficit now. in the House faced a tough uphill climb
The proposal will take $476 bil- to get the votes necessary to pass off the
lion from ending the wars in Iraq and floor. Groups on the political right were
Afghanistan and target transportation, saying the bill spends too much and
public works and infrastructure proj- groups on the left were saying it spends
ects.The President said the budget will too little. Muscling the votes in the
cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the middle was proving difficult.
next 10 years by collecting $1.5 tril-
lion in new taxes over the same period,
$800 billion in “war savings,” $278
billion in mandatory spending cuts
and $360 billion in Medicare and other
entitlement cuts.

16 arkansas truCking rePort | issue 1 2012