President Trump promised to dedicated $1 trillion towards infrastructure under his administration. As the President looks to follow through on his many promises, Trump is looking for alternative ways to pay for his campaign guarantees.
In an odd coincidence, Bloomberg has reported that President Trump is “open to the idea” of taxing gas prices in an effort to pay for new roads and bridges. While the need for an updated infrastructure is indeed present, the promotion of payment under a Republican President is flabbergasting. California just last week enacted a $52 billion fuel tax increase in an effort to pay for the state’s roads and bridges. This effort was panned by both state and national Republicans as an over reach by California to unfairly tax citizens for infrastructure improvements. With such criticism hurled at California, it is puzzling why the Republican President of the United States would even consider this as an option.
While many within his party are downplaying the situation, it has to be troubling for conservatives to know that this option is on the table. If President Trump decides to move forward with this tax, Republican support should be non existent. If Trump is looking to these types of ideas in an effort to pay for infrastructure, more questions must be asked about how he plans on completing this particular campaign promise.