This morning the front page reports that in 2007 the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which is the source of the Federal Funding for road and bridge repair, is not collecting as much tax revenue as the amount required for the approved repairs. In addition the repairs that are needed are far greater then those that have been approved.
The Philadelphia Inquirer story makes the comparison of the fiscal problems of the highway trust fund with the fiscal problems of Social Security. The problem is that the increasing number of highways that we built starting in 1956 means there is an ever increasing amount of aging roads and bridges that require maintenance. The trust fund is funded by an 18.4 cent per gallon Federal gasoline tax. That has gone up with the increased number of gallons used but has not produced enough added revenue to meet the increasing maintenance requirements from the larger number of roads and bridges.
I must admit I was unaware of this problem which Washington has been ignoring. Now faced with the bridge collapse and the fact that we need far more maintenance then we have agreed to undertake, we have yet another major fiscal crises that we can not ignore. I want someone to explain just how we are to meet the essential needs of this country and continue to refuse to increase the funding by tax increases.