Gas tax arithmetic

ACCORDING TO federal data, the average American family pays about $50 a month for cable television, $77 a month for soda, beer, and other beverages, and $300 a month to eat out. This makes it a relative pittance to pay $8 a month - less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day - to rebuild the state's roads and improve mass transit. That is what Governor Patrick is asking for with his proposed 19-cent raise in the gas tax.

The math is fairly straightforward. Say the average person drives 10,000 miles a year, and the average car gets 20 miles per gallon. That is 500 gallons a year, which at 19 cents per gallon is $95 a year or $8 a month. Cars with better mileage and drivers with shorter commutes would pay even less.

As detractors attempt to knock down the proposal to under a dime, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce recently underscored how reasonable the governor is being with its own recommended 25-cent hike. That's still only $11 a month. It's the least citizens can do for each other in difficult times to fill potholes, fortify bridges, and fulfill a vision of efficient, affordable public transportation.

The hike would no doubt be a hardship for those who drive long miles to low-paying jobs. But a broken transportation system imposes its own high costs - in lost time and unexpected car repairs.

The state's 4.6 million licensed drivers travel 55 billion miles a year on the state's roads, grinding them down into such disrepair that any money from the federal stimulus package is only a jumper cable for modernization. Commuters in congested areas are trying to get off the roads completely, as evidenced by the large numbers of people using rail, subway, and bus service.

The 19-cent rise would give Massachusetts the nation's highest gas tax, at 42 cents. But that is far less of a burden than the prospect of $7 tunnel tolls. And for those who find the gas tax a shock because they are driving a SUV, this might be just the stimulus they need to get them to park that vehicle, for good.