I got the idea of today's civics lesson from my buddy, Hank 'So what if it's not my work and I didn't source it' Dagny, over at Liar's Quorum when he wrote one of his typical, un-researched, un-sourced and ridiculously inaccurate posts on the federal gas tax.You see, Hank is well known to just make up his facts and regardless of if it's true or not, 'liberals' are always the problem. So he of course attempts to blame the 'gas tax' on liberals and then makes the pathetic, but very typical wingnut allusion that if 'only Ronnie Reagan was here he could fix everything'.
Let's begin with who began the federal gas tax and then get to what 'The Gipper' did for us on that regretful 'regressive' tax. And of course, if you read 'done that' you certainly know that unlike Hank at Liar's Quorum, I actually research my facts and always supply the source of those facts.
The federal gas tax began in 1932 and was signed into law by Herbert Hoover, the infamous Republican President, who is very much like George W. Bush today in that their accomplishments and the damage to our great nation are eerily similar. The first 'excise' tax on gasoline was one cent per gallon. That's a lot when you consider gas was probably a dime, if that, a gallon in 1932.
By 1940 the federal tax on gasoline had reached 1.5 cents and by 1951, 2 cents. And then, in a short period of less than four years, Dwight D. Eisenhower, another Republican (God bless him though) increased the tax twice, doubling it to 4 cents per gallon.
And now to Reagan and Bush Daddy. Poor Hank. As I alluded to above, facts and integrity are not one of his strong suits. In fact, he gets a zero rating in both of those categories. He's a big fan of Reagan but the poor guy, like most ignorant wingnuts, is absolutely clueless of what Reagan actually did to this country. Hell, the poor dumbass learned just a month ago that it was his hero who was the first president to tax social security. Of course that was after he wrote another bogus and made up post blaming 'liberals' again. All I know is some guy that goes by 'ohreally' ripped him and his band of fools a new asshole on that one.
Ronald Reagan loved to raise taxes on the middle class. You see how anxious he looks in that picture above to sign one of his long sought after 'pet proposals'? With that stroke of his pen, Reagan increased the federal excise tax on a gallon of gasoline by whopping 125%, to 9 cents a gallon. That tax had remained at 4 cents for 24 years until that little gathering above. And keep in mind, Reagan had just become the president to sign the first tax on social security. As I said, Reagan loved raising taxes on, and screwing the middle class.
Then Bush Daddy; Reagan wasn't actually done yet - he increased it again to 9.1 cents in 1987 and Bush 41 reduced it to 9 cents in 1990 before he increased it another whopping 57% to 14.1 cents four months later in December 1990.
In 1993, Bill Clinton increased the federal gas tax 30% from 14.1 cents to the current 18.4 cents on each gallon of gasoline. That of course was part of Clinton's 'Deficit Reduction Act of 1993', which as you should know, was probably the most successful piece of legislation passed in the 20th Century - not only balancing the budget after 12 years of Reagan/Bush record breaking deficits, but creating 22 million jobs as well -- and not one single Republican voted for it.
So, were you keeping track on the gas tax 'build-up'? Which political party is responsible for the majority of the current 18.4 cent federal gas tax?
Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Bill Clinton, the three Democrats who increased the tax are 'responsible' for 5.3 of the 18.4 cents. The other 13.1 cents is all Republican.
It's not only my duty, but it's my pleasure, to expose simple-minded and intellectually dishonest fools like Hank Dagny.
Oh yeah -- You knew I wouldn't forget those facts, didn't you?
You're welcome. Class excused.
