NOTE to students: Ask a parent to read the editorial and discuss your answers to the following questions.

1. What is the main idea of the WSJ editors’ commentary?

2. The editors explain in paragraph 7:

But since the 1990s, the Highway Trust Fund has come to fund much more than new roads and bridges and highway maintenance, abandoning the original “user pays” principle behind a gas tax. Drivers now see about a quarter of their gas taxes diverted to subsidize mass transit in merely six metro areas and sundry other programs for street cars, ferries, sidewalks, bike lanes, hiking trails, urban planning and even landscaping nationwide. Trolley riders, et al., contribute nothing to the HTF.

Are you surprised by this assertion? Explain your answer.

3. In their editorial, the WSJ editors also write:

Another myth is that U.S. roads and bridges are “crumbling,” to use the invariable media description. Federal Highway Administration data show that the condition, quality and safety of U.S. surface transportation are steadily improving. The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank noted in a 2009 paper that roads have “indisputably” improved over the last two decades and that “the surface of the median interstate highway mile is suitable for superhighway speeds not typically permitted in the United States.”

Some highways do need repair and modernization, and the U.S. does need more roads to relieve congestion and encourage trade and economic activity. The real crisis isn’t the amount of money but how it is spent.

Do you agree or disagree with this assertion? Explain your answer.

4.  Since gas prices have gone down so much, do you think it's ok for Congress to raise federal gas taxes?  Explain your answer.

(NOTE: The current federal tax on gas is 18.4 cents per gallon.  In addition, each state imposes its own tax on gas.  NJ is one of the lowest at 10 cents per gallon; PA highest at 41 cents per gallon. Check your state at: eia.gov - The federal government's U.S. Energy Information Administration website)