The SC Legislature is considering raising the gas tax by tying it to inflation. The tax money would (allegedly) be used to maintain roads and bridges here in South Carolina.
It may surprise some of y'all, but I would actually be ok with raising the gas tax if the funds were only used on actual infrastructure projects. Maintaining the roads and bridges is one of the core functions of our government, and I don't mind paying for that.
What I do object to is tying the tax to inflation.That's a cop-out way for the tax to go up in the future passively. You want the tax to go up in the future - fine. Take a vote. That's what the legislature is there for. Each time you want to raise or lower a tax, the legislature should have to take an affirmative vote. Tying the gas tax to inflation is going to result in the tax going up (or maybe down) without our legislature actually doing anything, and that's neither smart nor responsible. No tax should automatically move around.
In short, ensure the money isn't going to be diverted to other stuff, and make the tax a hard number.
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