Never Say Never (Gwen Moritz Editor’s Note)

Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post’s most conservative columnist, recently called on the Republican Party to, first, “stop Donald Trump” and then to “remake conservative politics.” It’s too late for Republicans to do the former, and was even when Rubin’s column appeared on May 6. But it’s not too late for the Republican Party to consider some of Rubin’s advice on party reform:

“Conservatives must end their infatuation with phony news, crank conspiracy theories, demonization of well-meaning leaders and mean rhetoric. It’s time to grow up, turn off Sean Hannity, get off toxic social media and start learning about the world as it is.”

She then suggested several things that need to be jettisoned from the Republican platform, including “never, ever raising taxes on anyone.”

This is a clear reference to Grover Norquist’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” which for two decades has allowed federal-level politicians of both parties to spend money without ever having to face the political reality of raising taxes to pay for that spending.

I trust that wasn’t the goal of Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, but it is a classic example of unintended consequences. Instead of making government smaller, cheaper and more efficient, Norquist’s stunt has relieved Congress and the president of any dirty work other than occasionally borrowing more money to pay for the spending and tax expenditures that never fail to delight beneficiaries.

Both of Arkansas’ U.S. senators and all four U.S. representatives have signed the pledge, according to the Americans for Tax Reform’s online database.

Of course, state budgets must truly be balanced. At the state level, the pledge means that there is no government function that Norquist and ATR consider important enough to actually ask taxpayers to chip in a single additional penny.

The pledge is not as ubiquitous at our state Capitol as it is in our congressional delegation. Only nine of 35 state senators and 17 of 100 state representatives are currently listed as signers. But those nine senators only have to find one more vote to stop any tax increase (except a sales tax) under our nutty state constitution. Perhaps that is why we are watching Gov. Asa Hutchinson — who, as it happens, has not signed the pledge — take a temporary, roundabout approach to the straightforward problem of highway funding.

What this state ought to do is raise the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. It’s a simple, fair and time-honored way of placing the cost of highways on those who use them, with those who use them most paying the most. Increasing fuel efficiency is a good thing, but it means less fuel is being sold and fewer tax dollars collected to maintain roads that are being pounded as much as ever. The per-gallon tax should simply be increased to keep up with the cost of building and maintaining the roads we need.

The Arkansas Good Roads Foundation recommended an additional 10 cents per gallon; state Sen. Bill Sample, R-Hot Springs, and three other members of the Senate Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs Committee that he chairs have floated the idea of 5 cents in the fiscal year that starts in July 2017 and 3 cents more in the following year.

“I’m sure all of us will take some heat,” Sen. Greg Standridge, R-Russellville, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. But if legislators didn’t talk about it too much — if they just whipped it on through the way they do new exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act — I’m not sure how many drivers would even notice.

This is the perfect time to increase the fuel tax. Gasoline remains relatively cheap in historic terms, and the price per gallon can easily fluctuate by 5 cents per day. If we are going to have decent roads, we need an adequate and reliable funding mechanism — and spending the state rainy-day fund and nickel-and-diming other government needs just screams inadequate and unreliable, doesn’t it?

While the Republican Party is doing some navel-gazing after letting Donald Trump happen, the idea of smart, adequate taxation for legitimate government functions should be back on the table. As Jennifer Rubin wrote, “The problems are real, and the solutions must be real as well.”

Gwen Moritz is editor of Arkansas Business. Email her at GMoritz@ABPG.com.