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A bipartisan thought

The Federal Highway Trust Fund is swiftly running out of money and is projected to be insolvent by August.

This fund is a budgetary pool of dollars used to maintain and improve our transportation infrastructure. The maintenance is greatly needed and would create tens of thousands of good jobs. Historically this fund has been replenished by federal fuel taxes but neither major political party is willing to increase the gasoline tax in an election year.

Despite the fact that the fuel tax has not been raised in 20 years I agree that it should not be raised. It would be another burden on the working and middle classes who are in need some relief from taxes. What will probably happen is that during this summer some money will be transferred from the general fund and our deficit will grow without providing the job creation that real funding would accomplish.

When asked about the Highway Trust Fund, John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House, has stated that, “We are looking for a new tax.”

I for once agree with the speaker and would like to propose that we create a federal tax on television advertising — and that we tax the begeebers out of it.

Television advertising creates a vast sea of money. Those dollars are used to pay sports figures obscenely high salaries and to create a class of royalty in stars that the American public then dutifully fawns over.

We are also on the eve of a presidential election year that is purported to have billion-dollar war chests available to the two presidential candidates. If those candidates turn out to be Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, be prepared to be bored and numbed senseless by an avalanche of soundbite-driven TV spots. We should tax the begeebers out of those dollars. Make them pay!

I propose a 300 percent tax on television political ads; a 200 percent tax on both pharmaceutical ads and insurance TV ads and a 100 percent tax on all other TV ads. All dollars generated by this new tax would be funneled into the Highway Trust Fund and would be used to kick start an infrastructure rebuild. An added bonus would be that newspaper advertising would flourish and we need strong independent newspapers to more thoroughly vet issues.

If you agree with me, please e-mail a copy of this letter to your congressman, Mike Kelly, or call his Butler office.

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