Within a matter of days after the Nov. 3rd election the word tolls appeared in news articles around the State of Connecticut. Some people’s obsession with tolls has not abated. Even a newspaper editorial appeared begging for the state to install tolls as soon as possible. A few days later an article was written addressing the state's gas tax, and how this may be the time to raise the tax, since Connecticut is slightly below the national average and ranked 15th in the country. The suggestion begs the question: should we aspire to have the highest taxes in the nation? The Democratically controlled legislature has answered this question for decades and has failed the people of Connecticut. Given the pandemic, this is probably the worst time to consider raising any taxes.

I sat at a public hearing and listened to state Rep. Joe de la Cruz, D-Groton/New London, speak to the transportation committee about why he supports tolls in our state. He bragged about how he and his wife go shopping in Rhode Island because it’s cheaper. He stated he continuously buys gas in Rhode Island because it is cheaper. He stated the people who live in the middle of the state would be shocked to find out how many people along the borders buy fuel in the cheaper states. My point of mentioning this is simple; our elected officials may begin talks about making Connecticut more expensive by raising the gas tax and causing de la Cruz and others to continue to cross the borders and buy gas in a cheaper state. How does this make any economic sense? It does not.

Here is a simple idea; let’s lower our gas taxes so de la Cruz and others will buy gas in Connecticut. Let’s lower our gas taxes so people in neighboring states come to Connecticut to fuel up. Let’s lower our gas taxes so the trucks driving through stop and gas up here. Let’s make Connecticut affordable again one step at a time so we can draw businesses back, create jobs and grow the economy and tax base. This will ultimately get Connecticut out of its budget crisis.

The answer is not more taxes. Instead of raising the gas tax, the governor should call upon the state auditors to conduct an audit into why Connecticut spends more per mile on transportation projects than other states. It is time to fix the Connecticut economy and its inequitable tax structure.

Patrick Sasser is the founder of founder of No Tolls CT. He lives in Stamford.