Principle Over Party

While the Senators were grilling the Oil Company Execs about the high cost of gas, the revenues the government receives from the gas taxes are bringing in record revenues into their coffers. In fact in Chicago, who has the highest gas prices in the nation, taxes account for approximately 20% of the gas costs. [Emphasis mine]

Tired of seeing the price at the pump jump every time you need to buy gasoline? Well, the record-high price of gasoline in the Chicago area is linked to a record-high rate of taxation: nearly 20 percent of the Chicago price.
————————————————
“It was $4.20. I can come over here and get it for $3.93,” said Tikvah Wadley, one of the many fleeing Illinois taxes.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin complained to oil company bosses at a hearing on Capitol Hill about Chicago having the highest gasoline prices in the United States. Largely ignored was the role taxes are playing — an astounding 10 levels of taxation.

“Does it trouble any of you when you see what you’re doing to us?” Durbin asked..
————————————————
The watchdog Civic Federation says that on a $4 gallon of gas, the total tax is 79.2 cents. That compares to 77 cents in Los Angeles and 65 cents in New York City.
————————————————
And that, of course, is exactly the point for the politicians. Gov. Blagojevich, for example, is counting on the high price of gasoline to bring at least an extra $220 million in the State Treasury in the fiscal year that begins this July. Most of that will be used to balance the way-out-of-balance budget.

Senator Durbin, does it trouble you when you see what you’re doing to us? Don’t you and your fellow Senators care about the poor and middle class working families? Why are you are forcing them to pay nearly a 20% tax rate on the gas they need to get back and forth to work?

Eventually, the majority of the taxpayers are going to find out the truth that Congress, State Legislators and local governments are to blame for the high gas prices. They will understand that you and your cohorts don’t want to fix the high gas prices. You just want the tax revenue so you can spend more of our money on your pet projects and never have to make decisions to actually cut spending.