Gas Taxes vs. Mass Transit

Trailer Park Girl has a discussion going about gas taxes vs. mass transit.

Mass transit is a great solution if you live in a large metro area. That works for Chicago, Minneapolis, LA, NYC, Houston, Dallas, etc. But for those of us that live in smaller communities, that just doesn't work.

And what about the farmer? It takes gasoline or diesel to fuel the tractors. Do people seriously think we can go back to the horse-drawn plow? And truck drivers? Without trucks on the road, prices for everything else will skyrocket. Or you will just have to lern to do without some things.

I would love to have mass-transit available. I would use it as much as possible. When I lived in Las Vegas, I did not have a car. I rode the bus or my bike everywhere I needed to go. But there was a bus stop every 20 feet and a grocery store on every corner.

I now live in rural Minnesota. There is no bus system here. No commuter trains. There are 3 grocery stores in town. All are about 4 miles from my house. In different directions.

My son goes to school in a different town. I drive 120 miles round-trip to take him to school. Yes, there is a school closer, but when he was going to that school, he was failing. Now he will graduate with his class next year.

We spend $50+ per week on gas right now. If gas goes up even more, I don't know what we are going to do. I'm glad this school year is almost over. Next year, he will be driving himself, but that will still be a lot of gas.

What is the answer? I don't know. But I know an additional gas tax will not help rural communities in any way.