Dear Editor:
The letter in the Feb. 3rd edition of the Reporter from the President of the Associated General Contractors of NJ is not surprising in light of the subject (a raise in the gas tax as a source of cash for the Transportation Trust Fund) being in the news. Many motorists aren’t opposed to a gas-tax increase in general, but we DON’T support raising NJ’s gas tax unless we get something out of it. An aside bonus would be self-serve gas.
The bigger issue is “putting the TRUST back in the trust fund.” NJ motorists pay plenty in driving and vehicle-related fees and taxes (including a sales tax on automotive-related spending). DMV takes in 4 times more than they are budgeted for. All that money motorists spend and gets back to government goes into the General Fund. We started the trend with former acting Governor Donnie DiFrancesco, when he began taking some of these components out of the general fund and dedicated them to transportation.
If we just raise the gas tax, we don’t solve this issue. Another way must be found to ensure transportation funding. Ultimately, the general contractors don’t care where the money comes from- they just want to be sure it’s there to keep their people employed. When their people are employed, their votes are assured.
If there is a shortage of money, we should courageously state that we can not afford all the government that spendthrifts from both parties have created over the years, and we should also close some parts of government down and shrink other parts.
No matter how politically expedient it is to confiscate from motorists in order to hire friends and redistribute a small part of the largesse to buy votes from the gullible, it is no longer practical. We need to tell these people what every responsible parent has said to their child at one point or another, “We don’t have the money right now. You’ll just have to do without.”
Troy Dillon