No new news: Michigan needs more money

What kills me about this is that they're looking at the gas tax increase being a fixed amount instead of a percentage. We need infrastructure and it should be funded by those who use it. The most practical and cost-effective way of doing this is by taxing gas, so I really have very little problem with an increase in gas taxes if we need to improve our infrastructure. We should also, however, consider other options: we should investigate to see if any major expressways can be privatized or if toll roads are feasible. Either way, a flat dollar amount per gallon is a poor way to handle the new tax because we'll just have the same problem 15 years from now when inflation once again reduces the amount going toward infrastructure to a tiny percentage.

$1 billion more needed for roads, group says
Coalition warns of economic impact, 12,000 lost jobs
Detroit Free Press

Cuts in spending on rad and bridge construction could cost Michigan more than 12,000 jobs over the next three years unless the state raises an additional $1 billion a year in fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, a coalition of business, government and labor groups backing the tax hikes said Wednesday.

Without an increase, funds for road building will drop by 40% by 2009, forcing companies in the industry to relocate and layoff employees and sending ripples widely across the Michigan economy, said Mike Nystrom, vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association.

"Business doesn't want to invest in a state that doesn't have infrastructure," Nystrom said, adding that an additional $1 billion in road funding is "the minimum that the state needs."