I’m still wondering where legislators think the money is going to come from to repair roads? Obamacare? Gotta love the excuses to;
Opponents said even a modest increase in the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel could cause people to buy fuel across the border in other states, particularly Wyoming, which has a much lower tax.
Yeah, I’m going to drive to Wyoming to fill up my car . . .
Sen. Gordon Howie, R-Rapid City, who is running for governor, said the bill should be defeated because South Dakotans do not want to be hit with a large tax increase. He said a better option would be to reduce government red tape to encourage more industrial development, which in turn would lead to increased state sales tax receipts.
Huh. Gordon, please stop talking and go teabag someone on your own time, stop wasting South Dakotan’s time with your ridiculous comments. While I think industrial development is a good idea, what does it have to do with roads and sales tax receipts? We shouldn’t be fixing roads from taxing food and utilities. When are you dillweeds gonna figure that out?
The Legislature has always resisted using general tax revenue for roads, and has instead used fuel taxes, vehicle excise taxes and registration fees to pay for highways. The South Dakota Constitution requires that gas tax revenue be used for roads and bridges.
Gee, what a concept!
Yeah, I’m going to drive to Wyoming to fill up my car . . .
You missed the point. The vehicles that punish our roads the most are semi-trucks. They can fill up in Wyoming and make it most of the way across the state – on our roads – and not pay a dime for their upkeep.
As to Gordon’s red tape – we have very little of that at the state level. Most of the problems with getting things up and running in SD involve small town politics and payoffs.
I get it. But in all reality, 90% of taxes are paid by South Dakotans. It’s like saying “Internet sales cost state government.” So what. Most people still buy 90% of their goods and services in the state, Hell, it probably closer to 99%. Stop pissing and moaning about the 1% ers.
reduce taxes…
Right. Howie forgets that you need taxes to provide the services (like roads, snow removal, police, etc.) that allow business to develop and succeed… as they do in Minnesota.
Where are all these imaginary crappy roads? There’s fine four lane to Huron; a gem of a four lane to Aberdeen; a marvelous four lane to Pierre; a wonderful four lane to Nowhere, Nebraska – and if the over-builders have their way, it will extend to Nowhere, North Dakota, with bypasses and loops around Sturgis. And the interstates are littered with exits that cannot be justified through their scant use. DOT’s budget is not the problem. It’s management. Also the heavy road damaging vehicles should stop having their registration taxes subsidized by the passenger cars.
John, your last line I presume you mean semi trucks? Unless things have changed, they pay an enormous amount of taxes, from registration to fuel taxes that more than offsets what damage is done. If I didn’t understand you correctly, feel free to set me straight!
Gotta love that highway that connects Aberdeen to I-29 don’t you John? I’ve driven that thing a hundred times and have yet to see the need to have four lanes of concrete for any stretch other than passing through Webster and Groton.
The rest is just wasteful and silly. There might be a day when we need a road like that up there… but it wasn’t needed four years ago when they built it, and it likely won’t be needed for at least another couple of decades.
I think that the rural counties are talking about some of the secondary roads. They do truly suck.