He's Wearing Us Down

I spent a long weekend in South Carolina and drove home yesterday.  I marveled all of the way home at the increased gas prices since last week.  Gas in Virginia and South Carolina was the least expensive in the $3.78 range for premium.  North Carolina and West Virginia were higher in the $3.85 range for premium, but then you arrive in Maryland and it was over $4 a gallon.  Other states weren't even close yesterday to Maryland's price for gas and, yet, the Governor wants a 6% sales tax phased in over three years on an already exorbitant tax rate of $0.235 cents per gallon.  So, how is he wearing us down?  My speculation is that the Governor wants a 1% increase to the sales tax.  A sales tax increase on the surface looks a lot less onerous than another increase in the gas tax, especially when the per gallon cost of gasoline is expected to exceed $5 this spring.  It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.