海角大神

Here's what we know about the state of America's highways and byways:

1.听Many roads in the U.S. are in desperate need of. In 2009 the American Society of Civil Engineers听. According to Pew Research, over a third of U.S. roads are in听, and a quarter of our bridges are crumbling.听

2.听Funds for repairs and upgrades come from the federal gas tax.

3.听The federal gas tax of听18.4 cents per听听of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel was set in 1993 and hasn't been increased since.

4.听Thanks to inflation, the federal gas tax now pays for about half the repairs that it did in 1993.

5.听Although Americans are听, we also have more听听in use -- the end result being that U.S. roads see about 3 trillion miles of travel each year, which is roughly equivalent to 8,000 trips across the solar system.

6.听The federal gas tax can't keep up with the cost of repairing all that wear and tear.

7.听Something has to change.

Bear in mind that maintaining our roads isn't just about easing traffic congestion and filling potholes. Poor road quality is a huge safety hazard, and some have suggested it might partially explain听听we've witnessed in the first half of 2012.

So, what to do? The听听recently posed this same question and offered a few potential solutions to the gas tax problem:

Raise the gas tax?听In theory, this is the most straightforward solution, and it's supported by听听in the听. But of course, raising the gas tax would require getting all of Congress onboard, which wouldn't be easy. Raising taxes is difficult in the best of times, and much more so given America's stop-start economy and the fractious nature of D.C. politics.听

Tax oil?听Taxing barrels of oil isn't all that different from taxing gallons of gas. However, an oil tax might be easier to institute because it's not aimed directly at consumers. Those consumers would, of course, end up paying the tax in the long run, but by moving the tax further back in the consumption cycle, its impact would be less visible (and maybe more palatable) to Everyday Joes and Janes.

Tax roads?听Many states already do this with toll roads, bridges, and so on. The improvement on toll roads is very visible to motorists, and the cost could be an incentive for some folks to drive less, which would reduce congestion. However, creating toll roads involves instituting pay stations, toll tag programs, and other expenses, which would eat into revenue.

Tax miles the miles people drive?听While this hasn't been instituted by any states just yet, it's already being done by听听insurers via听. Progressive's Snapshot program, for example, uses a simple onboard device to track customers' driving habits, including the distance they travel each month. Drive less, and generally, you pay less. The technological hurdles of instituting this kind of program at a national level are daunting, but some have proposed a workaround by putting states in charge of the tax, with odometer checks (and subsequently, tax assessments) conducted during annual auto inspections. In fact, last year, the听that a pay-as-you-go system could be the most effective way to maintain tax revenues down the line.

Tax cars?听There are over 250 million听听registered in the U.S. Adding a tax of $4 per year for each of those vehicles would generate an additional $1 billion in revenue, but like all taxes directly targeted to consumers, it wouldn't be a popular move.

Peg the tax to inflation or some other rate?听Modifying the gas tax so that it's pegged to another cost might not be seen as "adding" a new tax but "restructuring" an existing one, which could go over better with voters. The question is: how would it work best? Some suggest making the tax move up (and down) in direct correlation to inflation or the Consumer Price Index, though there are a lot of possibilities -- and few provide stable, consistent revenue.

It's a given that U.S. roads have to be maintained, and it's also a given that our government is responsible for maintaining them. How would you suggest we solve this growing problem?