Gas Tax: Fill & Download for Free

The gas tax repeal proposition got torpedoed by Javier Bacerra, (D) California’s Attorney General.The gas tax was very unpopular because gas is already very expensive in California given the summer additives required by law. It seems that very little of California’s gas taxes actually go to fixing the roads. A lot of road fixes go to road diets where the roads get smaller to create bicycle lanes that no one uses. The existing roads and freeways are in disrepair. I’ve had visitors from Germany and Italy who are shocked at the poor quality.So too with the most recent gas tax, no repairs in sight with monies funneled to other programs.Polls were overwhelmingly favoring repeal and then Bacerra got the idea to change the name of the proposition from “Gas Tax Repeal Initiative” to the very wordy and disingenuously obtuse, “Eliminates certain road report and transportation funding. Requires certain fuel taxes and vehicle fees be approved by the electorate. Initiative constitutional amendment.”How would anyone who wanted to vote for Gas Tax Repeal Initiative, get to whatever Bacerra ended up calling it? They couldn’t because he changed the title to something unintelligible.Supporters of a proposition to repeal the gas tax increase threatened Monday to recall Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra over what they consider a misleading ballot title.“Voters who wanted to vote ‘yes’ on Prop 6 have been deceived into voting ‘no’ — all because the Attorney General bowed to special interest pressure to remove the words ‘Gas Tax Repeal Initiative’ from the ballot and replace them with an intentionally false and deceptive title,” said Carl DeMaio, chairman of Yes on Prop 6.The official ballot title of Proposition 6 is:“Eliminates certain road repair and transportation funding. Requires certain fuel taxes and vehicle fees be approved by the electorate. Initiative constitutional amendment.”Prop 6 Supporters Threaten Recall of Attorney General Over Ballot Title - Times of San Diegohttps://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article235925402.htmlhttps://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article235929407.htmlUsing California gas tax to reduce traffic lanes? Not how it should be spent, some say

“…Is it possible that more gas taxes to pay for the infrastructure bill would hurt jobs as much as raising the corporate tax? “What happened to all the current gas taxes and all the infrastructure they were supposed to maintain?

I think many are leaving because the smugness and stupidity are too damn high.This is the day after the election:All California bond issues were passed.The large gas tax repeal was turned down.Don’t worry, we’ll relate this to the cost of living, just give me a sec here..All bonds are tax payer backed. We pass every bond measure, despite California having the nations highest state taxes. Can you imagine living like this? You just get a credit card everytime you want a new project?The gas taxes are highly regressive. I live and work in Silicon Valley, I see a few dozen Teslas S and Xs daily. These are 6 figure cars. I see hundreds of hybrids, Bolts, Leafs. These are all wealthy people, they don’t pay a gas tax. Indeed, their cars were subsidized.But working class families all have old gas guzzlers.We can discuss all sorts of taxes/fees here that hurt almost exclusively the poor. From the 9.75% sales tax rate in some counties, to the average $400 moving infraction, to the cost of schools, licenses, government parking passes, and above all, the flat 20% increase in car registration.(I was in a court room once, watching numerous Mexican families in tears over the flat $800 fine for not having proof of insurance. It was a flat fine where the judge had zero discretion, this ridiculous law, authored by Democrat state senator Jackie Spier, was repealed)And yet, California is in the bottom 10 of worst ranked schools nation wide. One of the worst states for road conditions. Emergency services. We can go on and on and on.There is a level of insanity here, and it is pointless to find rhyme or reason for peoples sentiments and actions.That being said, I’ll still give it a shot!:The rich are fabulously rich. From Silicon Valley, to Hollywood, to agriculture (the richest people here are in agriculture. Fiji water and POM juice are CA products enriching a huge billionaire)Taxes, fees, $1 tax per gallon of gas, and multi-million dollar homes are so far beneath their daily concern, it wouldn’t register.. like a poor cockroach in front of a Ferrari’s tire.The middle and working class vote for any and all assistance they can, thinking that the rich can afford it and that’s who is paying. Sadly, they are only borrowing against their future income and their children’s.In other words, the high taxes and fees here, the high cost of living is a non-issue for many, including the millions of eye-poppingly wealthy immigrants from Europe and Asia.They don’t care if the state income tax climbs from 12% to 13% (they voted for it). but then again, they actually do nothing directly to actually help the poor (the bay area is one of the least charitable regions in america).The poor, of which there are millions (California has one of countries highest poverty rates), vote along with the rich, unaware that the state can’t easily just tax the rich. So the poor continue to have obstacles put in front of them such as fines, fees, gas taxes, and high sales taxes. Death by a million paper cuts.BTW, as the middle class and poor pay taxes.. I know people who live off of passive income on California MUNI bonds (they buy bonds issued by CA and make a few percentage points, this income is NOT taxable by the federal government or the state).I did mention that the state is limited as to how much it can tax. Most of our revenue comes from direct income taxes.If you tax too high.. people move out.. the people with middle amounts of money. Again, the mega wealthy are indifferent and the poor think they benefit. But the upper middle class, the people who have just enough money where state taxes are punitive - they move.And I know a lot of people who have moved out of state because:They can pay CA taxes or they can send their kids to college. Pick one.They have a lot of money, but still can’t afford a starter home in the bay area, and if they could, they wouldn’t want to because anything less than 2 million is garbage.So they take their income, their savings, and leave.That’s the only reason. Otherwise the state’s natural beauty, our wine, our food, our coasts, it’s paradise. We have an abundance of everything, including stupidity, poverty and blasé rich assholes.—Edit: One conservative friend lamented that the “california liberals ruin this state” and then flee to a red state. Sadly, and somewhat hilariously, this is true. We are turning Montana blue and have already succeeded with Colorado. Beware Texas!