Debunking the Myth That Only Drivers Pay for Roads

It's perfectly reasonable for American drivers to believe they pay for the roads they use. They’re aware that they pay gas taxes, but those costs are typically concealed in the total price of fuel, and there's no sign at the pump explaining that U.S. gas taxes are laughably low compared to other countries and haven't been raised in more than 20 years. Sure enough, when you ask people how much they pay in gas taxes, most either don’t know or think they pay much more than they really do.

The problem with this illusion emerges whenever it comes time to raise another round of highway revenue—as is the case right now in Washington. Voters and their political proxies balk at the idea of raising the gas tax. Some will invariably grab at the small share of this money that goes to public transportation; this year it's Reps. Thomas Massie and Mark Sanford who (separately) introduced legislation eliminating the mass transit account of the highway trust fund.