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I’m surprised there hasn’t been a post on this yet. What do think of Governor Otter vetoing 35 bills (at this writing… it changes by the minute) to keep legislators in Boise until they pass a gas tax increase? Should the House stick it out? Or give in, pass a tax increase and call it good?
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Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
It WAS all he had to say about it!
:@:) 
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{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the post Neal. I’ve been talking about this in the chatbox today so I’m glad to see a post on it. I think it’s wrong and a clear abuse of his power to blindly veto 35 bills. I for one hope the house doesn’t give in to these childish tactics Otter has resorted to.
I think it’s silly for Otter to veto everything but I understand his frustration. In my opinion the legislature should stop passing stupid bills that nobody wants and pass a gas tax. This issue didn’t just come up this year. Otter’s been trying to do it since he came into office. I didn’t think his proposal to raise registration fees was fair but I do think the gas tax is fair. Nobody likes taxes but they don’t like bad roads either. In my opinion Otter isn’t any more childish than most of our legislators. Just about everything they do is politically motivated instead of doing what’s really best for their constituents. They need to grow up too.
I think the legislature is actually doing what it’s constituant want this time.
I for one do not want an increase in gas taxes especially if the summer landscape looks ANYTHING like it did last year as far as the prices of gas.
Why don’t we put weigh stations for taxation purposes along roads like Hwy 20 so that the big haulers (that are most damaging to roads) can’t get away with overloading their trucks along those routes. This won’t cover all costs but it may help some.
I don’t think the house should give in.
i just want to know where I can get one of those cool “VETO” stamps I saw Otter use on TV
Our roads are traveled by more tourists throughout a year than most states. We have a large national park and we are a byway into Canada and Mexico. Federal money for roads are distributated by population. Our roads are traveled by out of staters far more than our general public during the tourist season especially. Why hasn’t anyone put a proposal together for Washington showing how out of proportion our roads are traveled? Or have they?
I don’t like our governor using such strong arm tactics. I can see why he is frustrated however he is costing us tax dollars by holding the house hostage. They have put a lot of work into the bills that got the veto stamp. If you think the legislators will just let the bills drop think again. Looks like our tax dollars just got put into overtime thanks Otter.
Yeah, the legislators have done a lot of work, all right. Passing stupid bills that nobody even asked for like the one where they forbid employers to outlaw guns on their property. What brought that on? Or giving pharmacists the right to refuse to fill prescriptions on moral or religious grounds. The legislators are as wacked out as Otter. They don’t care about the important things at all.
A fuel tax to fund road projects is a fair tax because the ones who use the roads more will pay more taxes. Governor Otter is no more using strong arm tactics than the legislators who let bills die in their desk drawer.
People keep saying STUPID BILLS, but nobody has any idea what these 35 bills consist of that he vetoed. Ok, a prescription bill. that’s one. What are the other 34 STUPID BILLS he keeps vetoing? Just because a certain bill seems stupid to you, doesn’t mean they aren’t important to other people.
The fact is, the governor is abusing his power by vetoing these bills without bothering to review them. All because the house wont pass his gas tax bill. It’s childish the way Otter is acting.
How much stimulus money are we already getting for our roads and bridges? I’m sure we don’t need that much more on top of the stimulus money. Certainly not 3 cents a gallon more for 2 years. And do you honestly think that after those 2 years are up that he’ll drop the 3 cent tax? It never happens that way.
Interesting comment Janet. I wonder if anyone has considered summer toll booths? Would there be enough traffic to warrant the expense?
When I brought up the stupid bills I’m not talking about the budget bills that Governor Otter has just vetoed. I’m talking about the stupid bills that already passed before the governor and legislators got into their pissing match. I don’t know of ANYONE who wanted the bill allowing guns at work. Why even go there? No employer has ever been in trouble for not allowing guns at work. So why do they need the law? I think that the pharmacy law was already passed weeks ago too but I might be mistaken. And it’s just not true that nobody knows what the vetoed bills consist of. They are budget bills. I tried to find an exact list of which bills had been vetoed but didn’t have much luck. Each source I’ve found states that they are budget bills which need to pass before the legislature can adjourn. That’s about the only leverage Otter has at this point.
As for our roads being used by out of state (or foreign) tourists, that’s why a gas tax is fair. Whoever buys gas pays for the road work, no matter where they live. That’s much fairer than for instance, using Idaho vehicle registration to fund the projects. That way only Idahoans would pay. Does anyone have a better plan to fund road repairs than Governor Otter?
What I want to know is, how much state tax do we currently have attached to our gasoline? I’m sure it’s pretty high as it is. Where has all that money been going?
The Idaho tax rate is $0.25/gal and the federal rate is $0.184/gal. For every gallon of fuel you pump you’re being taxed $0.434 cents…almost a full quarter of the cost per gallon.
Personally, I don’t think I want to see it go up for any reason. Let’s cut the budget of some of these programs that allow people to remain uselessly supported by the state in favor of better roads for those of us that commute to and from work on a daily basis, as well as tourists that dump money into our local economy. Let the welfare recipients (who won’t be receiving monthly payments anymore) figure out how to live without leeching from the government.
Gas Info Source: http://www.idahogasprices.com/tax_info.aspx
First off I think it’s funny that Otter, a Libertarian, is pushing so hard for taxes…Weird. Second, it is pointless to raise the gas tax without simultaneously expanding mass transit and providing alternatives in transportation. If all you do is dump all the money into repairing roads then the problem doesn’t get solved. By taking more cars off the road there will be less need for repairs. Besides, someone who is only driving to work or other places to support and provide for his family will be hurt much more by a gas tax than the guy who has to cut back on trips to the lake to take his friends out on his boat.
Lets face it, 3 cents a gallon isn’t a lot of money, not really enough to hurt any of us. If you burn two tanks of gas a week, and most of us don’t, that’s about a buck a week. Not any big deal there. Unless you’re a neanderthal that still drives a truck with a 60 gallon gas capacity, then it becomes a different story.
The big deal is Otter’s insistence on getting his way on this issue. I haven’t liked Otter since way before he became our Governor, and it was because of his tendency to put his foot down and stretch his influence to it’s limit that I didn’t vote for the man.
This isn’t the first time we’ll see him make a fool out of himself before he finishes this term.
Marcus, it’s time for you to stop complaining about people being uselessly supported by our state. We have a welfare system for a reason and I pray that your family never has a need to call upon it. Idaho’s system is a major pain in the rear for people who think of welfare as an entitlement or a way of life. Check this link to see how the system is supposed to work and where Idaho stands in the implementation of suggested welfare guidelines.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb109/hb_109-6.pdf
What reason is that? Why, exactly, is it necessary to have a welfare system?
We need a welfare system for the same reason we need cops and garbage men. It’s essential in a society where shit just happens sometimes.
It’s good that the system can help when a family finds itself in dire straights because of tragic circumstances. It’s good that the system is designed to show those families how to become self sufficient again.
It’s not so good that human nature steps into the situation and brings along people whose only desire is to ride the welfare wagon til the wheels fall off. But the lack of principles these people live by shouldn’t keep us from helping the ones that are truly deserving.
That’s why.
I agree thats its needed, I just wish the govt would work harder at preventing the rampant abuse.
A required drug test would be nice. You can’t support yourself?…No extra curricular activities. No fun until you can provide for yourself and your family.
Interesting how Gov Ottor tried so hard to get this gas tax passed when come to find out, Idaho is above 48 other states when it comes to the amount of stimulus dollars being dolled out. Time to give Ottor the ole size 11 to the hind quarters.
Source?
I saw that as well, Ch. 6 reported this last week.
Seems to me the PR made a pretty big deal about it too.