We won’t take credit for much but when the Transportation Climate Initiate reared its ugly head, we took a baseball bat to it. New Hampshire Dems wanted it, and are prepared to change State law so we can get it. We took them and it to the rhetorical woodshed.
Related: The Democrat’s Proposed Gas Tax Hike is on Everything and Everyone
Sununu said they were looking at it then said NH was not interested. He rightly called it a boondoggle.
Not long after, the Gov. of Connecticut hinted their state was not encouraged and likely to take a more extended look. A gentle way of prepping the battlespace for a no.
Our neighbors to the left, in Vermont, are not enthused. Gov. Scott has concerns about the idea, and rumor has it (certainly now that NH is out and others are balking) that he will oppose it.
And now even the governor of Maine says, “the state will be appropriately cautious when considering these issues.”
She’s a Democrat and an environmental stooge. She thinks CO2 is a greenhouse gas (it’s not) and that whatever the issue (real or imagined), the government should lead. Put another way; states should introduce regulatory force to change behaviors they decide are at issue and (yes) profit from it.
But Maine is not exactly a blue state. Strapping a majority-rural constituency with a significant gas tax increase is not a good idea. So, she’s reserving judgment, which is the politically expedient way of saying I like being governor more than that other stuff I said.
All totaled the idea of cramming a gas tax increase on everyone that will affect the price of everything is a bigger risk than global warming, climate crisis, chaos, or whatever.
Not everyone feels that way. Rhode Island is all set to screw its residents, and Charlie Baker wants the cash for Taxachusetts, where being Republican means very little when it comes to robbing people to fund institutional corruption, waste, and serial incompetence.
Baker’s office says, “the administration is pleased by broad support seen among environmental and business communities, and the “robust participation” by the various Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.”
That’s a lie.
There has been no end of talk about Massachusetts’ disadvantage to New Hampshire getting worse if TCI goes into effect there and not here. The State’s Jan 1 minimum wage hike added to the gap already this year.
The minimum wage goes up in half of New England on January 1st. Massachusetts continues to lead the way, with its minimum wage increasing to $12.75. Maine is not far behind, with a boost to $12.00 an hour. In Vermont, where increases are tied to inflation, the minimum wage rises 18 cents to just under $11.00 an hour.
They know better but they need a way to make sure people in neighboring states know they know. Congress would take that ball and run but it lacks the votes or a President who would stab the nation’s economy and working people in the heart to pander to economic socialism disguised as Apocolypse relief efforts.
By the way, if you want a colossal gas tax that will both drive up the price of everything, just vote Democrat in November. A Lefty NH Gov will push this thing through the legislature like s**t through a goose, killing our booming economy in a heartbeat.
If that’s not your idea of good for job creators, energy prices, the economy, or your wallet vote Republican. In all seriousness, the Climate will never notice the difference.
| Boston Globe (Subscription may be required)
