We must invest in our transportation system
For more than a decade the needs of our transportation system in Pennsylvania and nationwide have been growing faster than our ability to fund them.
These needs were well documented in two state and two federal commission reports that identified a need of $3.5 billion per year in additional revenue just for Pennsylvania’s system.
Our transportation systems have served as key components of economic strength for many generations. Today, much like the rest of our nation, Pennsylvania’s transportation system is aging significantly due to decades of underinvestment.
Our transportation systems are primarily funded through a user-based tax on gasoline. This tax consists of a federal gasoline tax and a state tax on each gallon of gas purchased. Currently the federal gas tax on a gallon of gas is 18 cents and the Pennsylvania state tax is 31 cents. For the average driver, this amounts to roughly $275 per year.
Today, these funding sources are generating less and less revenues. Overall travel by the motorist has significantly dropped due to the fluctuating price of gas and the uncertainty of the economic climate.
Additionally fuel efficient automobiles and hybrid cars are reducing gasoline consumption. Compounding the problem is the fact that the buying power of the dollar has significantly been reduced through inflation. The federal gas tax of 1993 of 18 cents will only purchase 12 cents of material in 2011.
Consider these additional points: today the European Union countries invest approximately five percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for infrastructure improvements, and China invests approximately nine percent of their GDP.
In the early 1960s with the construction of our interstate system at its peak, the United States investment was three percent of our GDP. Today, we are at 2.4 percent of our GDP. Our current transportation system has 50 percent more road length than the European Union and 80 percent more than China. The federal gasoline tax has not been raised since 1993.
The basis of every successful civilization has been a first-class infrastructure. Our forefathers had the vision to build a transportation system that provided a means to transport our goods to market in a safe and efficient manner. We, as the beneficiaries of that system, have an obligation to at least maintain the system so that we may pass that on to the future generations.
The time has come to put our political ideologies aside and do what is right for this nation and the people. I urge our political leaders both federal and state to stand up to the task of restoring the integrity of our infrastructure system and pass legislation that will adequately fund the transportation system.
Investments in our nation’s infrastructure will create jobs that will bolster our economy and have lasting effects on the continued strength of this great nation.
Domenic Piccolomini is a resident of Uniontown.