Talking Transportation: The Gas Tax Hustle
Attention all chiropractors and physical therapists! Please report immediately to the state Capitol to treat the sore muscles of lawmakers who’ve twisted themselves into a pretzel, patting themselves on their backs for cutting the gasoline tax!
What a surprise (in an election year) that lawmakers voted unanimously to cut the gasoline tax 25 cents a gallon from April 1 – June 30th. What a massive sense of relief for money-short taxpayers to save, what, $25 per car this spring. Wow! Let’s all drive to Disneyworld.
And what do you think will happen in June when summertime driving season really kicks into high gear. Who’ll have the guts to vote against a probable extension of the tax cut heading into campaign season, even if gas prices have dropped by then?
While the savings may be tiny for each driver, the loss of tax revenue for the Special Transportation Fund (STF) will be significant… about $90 million. That loss will be made up from other budget surpluses in Hartford which seems to be awash with taxpayer money.
In addition to the gasoline tax cut, we can all go on a spending spree with a sales tax holiday on clothing the week before Easter, but only on duds and footwear priced at less than $100… assuming it’s in stock, given the supply chain mess.
One group that will benefit from this bipartisan bounty will be bus riders. They’ll literally get a free ride for three months. Those folks deserve a break, as for them even the existing $1.75 fare adds up and represents more of their income than most commuters.
As for the Gold Coast fat-cats who ride Metro-North… let them eat cake. No fare cuts for you beyond the railroad’s recently announced discount deals trying to entice riders back to the office.
This isn’t the first time our lawmakers have messed with the gas tax. Some of us remember 1997 (when Transportation Committee Senate Chair Will Haskell was literally in diapers) when the tax was cut 14 cents a gallon. That costing the STF billions in money that could have kept our roads and rails in better shape.
What is really needed is what lawmakers refuse to do: fix the state’s gasoline price-fixing oligopoly known as “zone pricing” that creates huge disparities in what the pump price is based solely on geography. Why does gasoline cost 40 cents a gallon more in Greenwich than in Bridgeport?
And when, oh when, will we stop focusing on internal combustion vehicles draining our wallets and polluting our air? When will we get serious about getting low m.p.g. junkers off the road, replacing them with clean, electric power?
When? When we replace our part-time pols with full time legislators.
That’s why I enthusiastically endorse the idea of a pay raise for our lawmakers. Their current $28,000 salary is a joke, leaving them fudging their travel expenses to scrape by, hoping to eke out a fatter pension.
Legislators’ jobs may be part time, but their responsibilities are full time plus OT, not to mention the commute. At today’s pay scale only the rich can afford to do the job which hardly means they represent, let alone can identify with, their diverse constituents.
You get what you pay for. Connecticut deserves full time, well paid lawmakers not the clown-car of political pandering we have now.
About Jim Cameron:
Jim Cameron has been a commuter advocate for over 30 years, with a special focus on the Metro North railroad. He spent nearly two decades on the Connecticut Metro North Commuter Council, and most recently founded The Commuter Action Group. Jim Cameron’s Talking Transportation was a popular column on the former WestportNow.com prior to its cessation, and joins The Westport Local Press and several other online community organizations. A resident of Darien - he serves on its Representative Town Meeting and is Program Director of the town government TV station, DarienTV79. He can be reached at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: @CTRailCommuters
Coleytown Middle turns Pineapple Under the Sea as “The Spongebob Musical” Hits the Stage next Weekend
(L-R): SpongeBob (Ari Sklar), Patrick (Joey Vazquez), Plankton (Teddy Brooks). Contributed photoColeytown CompanyBack with its first-full SCALE musical since 2018, Coleytown Company will present The Spongebob Musical at Coleytown Middle School on April 8-10, 2022. With assistance from theater professionals every step of the way, Ben Frimmer directs approximately 40 middle school students in what might be the best middle school performance in the TUNAverse.
Based on the cartoon television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg, the musical tells a story of how to choose hope and friendship in a world that is coming apart. It’s just another day in Bikini Bottom, when a news report reveals that Mount Humungous, an underwater volcano, will erupt in short order.
Will SpongeBob and his friends save the day? Find out on April 8-10. Tickets available beginning March 21 at www.showtix4u.com. Adults, kids and everyone in between will enjoy this show because there is someFIN for everyone.
Nancy T. Sennett Park, 99, Died; Former Westport Public Schools and Famous Artists School Secretary
Nancy T. Sennett Park, 99, of Oak Harbor, Vero Beach, and a long-time resident of Westport, passed away peacefully on March 20, 2022, just a few months before her 100th birthday. Mrs. Park was born June 10, 1922, in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. She graduated from Bates College with a BA in English. Mrs. Park taught high school English and shorthand/typing in Massachusetts and in Connecticut.
Before moving to Westport, Mrs. Park was the administrative assistant to the Director of Rockefeller Center in New York. In Westport, Mrs. Park was the administrative assistant to Victor Keppler, President of Famous Artists Schools in Westport. She later served as the secretary to the Westport Superintendent of Schools.
Mrs. Park moved to Vero Beach, Florida, in 1977 where she taught at St. Edwards School. She was President of the American Association of University Women in Vero from 1985-1987. She was also chair of AAUW's book/author fundraising for many years. Mrs. Park served as Secretary of the Community Church of Vero Beach, where she was a choir member for 22 years. She loved music, and she performed in a Sweet Adelines Quartet for two decades.
Mrs. Park is survived by her daughters, Elizabeth Sennett White (Robin), of Vero Beach, Margaret Sennett Hebert (Tom) of Mansfield, Connecticut, grandson Zachary Hebert (Kyungmi), great grandsons Myles Hebert and Max Hebert, all of Farmington. CT., her sister, Marjorie Terry of Essex, CT and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, Eugene William Sennett of Westport, CT, her husband, Carl Groth, of Westport, CT and her husband, Benjamin A. Park of Vero Beach.
Westport COVID-19 Cases Up 4; State Hospitalizations, Positivity Rate Down
The State Department of Public Health reported 4 more cases in Westport over the past day. The State’s daily test positivity rate was down to 3.35% while hospitalizations were down 3 patients, with 98 patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 throughout the State.
Westport total positive or probable cases: 4,038 cases.
Westport total COVID-19 Deaths: 36 deaths
State Daily Test Positivity: 3.35% [up from 3.65%]
State Hospitalizations: 98 patients [-3]