C'mon Nerd, How Ya Goin' To Fix the Roads?

Four years ago we elected a candidate for governor who was so vague about his agenda no one knew what his plans were. Good Lord did we find out. This time I want answers. It should be a lot of fun being a Republican office holder in Michigan these days. They

control the House, they control the Senate and the Nerd who signs their bills is their gov. So they don't need to do a lot of wheeling and dealing, none of that filthy compromise stuff that politicians used to use to get things done. None of that.

Which makes me wonder what kind of shenanigans they have up their sleeves to fix our roads. Over 60% of the voters want something done. The problem is it's all going to cost money, maybe over $1 billion. And then more money to maintain them.

Stick'em up!

So taking into account that Republicans control all the avenues of law-making in the state and the fact that the voters have clearly expressed their interest, what has the GOP done, what laws have they passed, what funding have they jockeyed, what deadlines have they set to deal with the roads? They have all the majorities, they just have to take aim and pull the trigger. So why don't they?

And they don't even like to talk about it. In debates, they hem and haw as if this problem popped up yesterday and they're just clueless what to do.

I don't think that necessarily means that they don't have a plan, however. This legislature and this governor have a history we can look up to learn their voting patterns over the past 4 years. And guess what? If you are a corporation, you are so lucky, because it's the rest us paycheck to paycheck earners are about to take another hit for the team.

That's why ruling GOP they won't talk about it. That's why they could have done something in the

Here's how to fix the roads!

last nine months to address the problem, but they blathered and postured like a 10 year old caught with his hand in the cookie jar. They want us to think like they're waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain with a solution that would let them off the hook. “Hey, don't blame us, Moses did it!”

Now when the Nerd first ran for gov, he said that he wanted structural change in the state's funding. So far that's been a tax shift from businesses to folks like you and me. I guess that's kind of structural, but if he'd said that that's what he intended to do, he'd still be hawking Gateway computers on eBay.

So, this election, his vague references that something needs to be done has me reaching to put my hand over my wallet.

You may know that highway researchers found that each semi-truck damages the roads equivalent to 9,600 cars, but if you think that means that $1 billion is on its way from companies that own big trucks, you haven't been paying attention. Sure, they might get dinged a few cents a gallon but with this administration you and I will get to pick up the rest of the tab.

The road funding in Michigan is a history of one dumb tax shift after another. So when I heard the Nerd talk about “structural change”4 years ago I assumed gas taxes would no longer primarily fund schools, a deal dating back to the Jolly Johnny Engler comedy years. Engler screwed with the tax code so much nobody still knows where any of their state taxes go.

For instance, in November 2001 Jolly John took it upon himself to raid $63 million from

It's not my fault it didn't work.

the Michigan Transportation Fund and dump it into other departments which happened to run afoul of the Michigan Constitution. By January, 79% of Michigan citizens disagreed with Jolly John's thievery, 59% strongly disapproving. (Hmm, a governor that openly violates the constitution and does whatever he pleases regardless of what the people say...sound familiar?)

The chart below tells you all you need to know about why we don't have any money to build and maintain roads. The GOP realized that Jolly Johnny's Proposal A tax reduction took a whole bunch of money away from schools. His solution? Take the 6% sales tax on gasoline and give most of it to the schools. Simple?

Yes he was.

Michigan high taxes, low spending

Michigan, which is considering a major fuel tax hike, already has some of the nation’s highest taxes on fuel, but the lowest spending on roads. This chart compares Michigan’s state gas taxes and road spending with the nation’s highest-tax states and other Midwest states.

State	Taxes on gas (cents)	Dollars spent per lane-mile
California	52.9	43.5
New York	49.9	35.1
Connecticut	49.3	42.5
Hawaii	48.1	48.3
Pennsylvania	41.8	29.3
Michigan	41.4	11.7
Indiana	40.8	13.3
Illinois	39.1	20.5
Wisconsin	32.9	13.9
Ohio	28	18.9
Iowa	22	8.4
NATIONAL AVERAGE	28.2	17.2

Sources: Tax data is for 2014 from the American Petroleum Institute. Spending data is for 2012 from the Federal Highway Administration.

So Nerd, let's talk about structural change, because the gas tax situation sure looks like it needs some fundamental common sense applied to it. Your tendency to consider the middle class and seniors your personal piggy bank must end. 

And since you ran your first campaign without giving us many details about your plans, we'd need to know now how you figure you'll fix this problem if you want our vote.

Hey, the majority in the House and Senate will go along with your leadership if you're a leader.

How about telling them (and us) how you'll fix our roads.