THE PIGOVIAN IMPERATIVE:

Antitax hysteria is hastening America's decline: A gas tax would be a smart and fair way to plug Pennsylvania’s fiscal hole. But raising taxes appears to be outside the realm of rational discussion. (Dennis Jett, April 28, 2010, CS Monitor)

In order to maintain [I-80] and generate funds for other projects in the state, Pennsylvania’s legislature had approved a plan to place tolls on the road. The $472 million that would have been collected was supposed to cover about half what the state intended to spend on highways and public transportation. [...]

While there are several different options, the most obvious one probably won’t get the serious discussion it deserves. Increasing the state fuel tax – which now stands at 32.3 cents per gallon – by about seven cents a gallon could fill the gap. The people using Pennsylvania’s roads would pay the tax and it would cost nothing more to collect. Gasoline prices have risen 80 cents a gallon since a year ago, and yet the republic still stands, so the burden is bearable.