House Speaker Thom Tillis said the Republican caucus will discuss whether to proceed with a gas tax cap at its meeting this morning.
The current 35-cent per-gallon tax is expected to reach about 39-cents on Jan. 1 because of higher wholesale gas prices. Some House Republicans want to put a ceiling on the tax, citing the burden to families amid the dour economy.
But doing so would cut millions of dollars targeted for road building and maintenance projects. A 4-cent reduction would save an average driver about $30 a year, according to the state department of transportation, but reduce road money by $340 million over two years.
Me? That is an additional three* 6-packs of beer during 2012. While my utility would rise, my labor productivity and, likely, state GDP, would fall.
*Note: I'm a beer elitist.
