Braun Accidentally Admits Gas Tax Unnecessary

Let's talk about Mike Braun and the gas tax. So just a reminder that we talked about it a little bit in our opening segment. In 2017, the Indiana Republican Party, because they controlled all of state government, majority in the House, majority in the Senate, Republican governor, enacted the largest tax increase in state history. And what they did is they raised the gas tax by 10 cents per gallon. And that gas tax automatically went up every single year without debate, without discussion, without having to prove the money was being used responsibly, without in not having to have any sense of accountability for it. It just automatically went up. At the time, we were told this is the only way to fund the roads. We've looked at it top to bottom. There's no other way to do this. The Republican majorities in the House and Senate Republican governor told you there was no other way to fund your roads than raising your taxes, the largest tax increase in the history of our state. Boy, doesn't that sound familiar? Fast forward nine years, what is the governor now trying to do with Republican super majorities in the House and Senate who have signed off on it by abdicating their responsibility and giving it all to the governor? Mike Braun is proposing $6.5 billion in new taxes on I-70 because there's no other way. Well, of course, there was a way to siphon money off the existing toll road on 65 to help the Bears new stadium. There's somehow supposedly $4 billion laying around to do the Mid-States corridor, which would benefit Mike Braun's business, but no money to help you on the road you use without raising your taxes by $6.5 billion. Over time, let me lay out how much you're actually paying in taxes on gas, shall we? You're currently paying. Now, this was as of July 2025, and I'll tell you why I used July of 2025 here in just a moment. But as of July 2025, well, and one other thing I need to clarify, we actually have two taxes on gas in the state of Indiana. There is a special gas tax just for gas, and then you pay sales tax on the gas. You guys know this? Two taxes on gas. You know, usually if you're using gas, you're doing things like going to work, getting your kids to school, going to the grocery store. We come back to the whole Republicans or financial predators thing. Why do they target gas? Because you need it to live. Why do they target property taxes? Because you need it to live. They're doing this deliberately. They're coming after you and trying to hurt you on things you need to do. They're going to be the most. Because it's not about helping you. It's about helping them. Them being the government. Them being the Republicans and funding their government and their big government, and they want to go after things that you absolutely need so that you can't find a way around it. So in the state of Indiana, as of July 2025, we had 54.50 cents per gallon tax just on gas. So every gallon of gas you buy, 54.50 cents of that goes just to the Republicans special tax on gas. Thirty six cents of that is the excise tax, the special tax on gas, and then 17.5 cents of that is the sales tax on gas. Put them together, you get 54.50 cents. So think about this. And the reason I chose July of 2025 is that your actual tax on gas is different every single month. It's different. Do you know anything else where the tax is different every single month? The reason the tax is different every single month is because the sales tax changes based on the price of gas. Think about this. The government in Indiana makes more money based on you paying more for gas. The government has set up a system where they are cheering for you to have to pay more for gas. So as the price of gas goes up, your sales tax increases. Double whammy, right? Then on top of that, you have, and I think it's eight, yes, it's 18.4 cents, 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax. You put all of those together, you get 72.9 cents because we also have, did you guys know this? And nobody ever talks about this. A one cent oil inspection fee on every gallon of gas. What the hell is an oil inspection fee? So your 54.50 cents per gallon is a 36 cent excise tax, 17.5 cent sales tax, 18.4 cents federal tax, and a one cent oil inspection fee, you put them together, 72.9 cents. 72.9 cents of every gallon of gas you buy. By the way, if you want to see the deep dive on this, Wish TV had a phenomenal piece on this where they went through a whole bunch more stuff than what I'm laying out to you here now. Wish TV had the story. 72.9 cents per gallon goes to taxes. Think about how cheap your gas would be if you didn't have to pay that. So all of this being said, in 2017, we were told there was no other way to fund the roads without the largest tax increase in the history of our state. Massive increase in the gas tax that goes up every year. However, Braun, the governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, saw a lot of the biggest tax increase in the history of our state. He slipped up yesterday and kind of let you know that's just a giant load of crap because he came out yesterday and said, according to Wish TV, well, if this war with Iran keeps going and the gas prices keep going up, I'll consider suspending the gas tax. Wait a second. I thought the gas tax was the vital, most important way we funded our roads and that there was no other way to do it without the largest tax increase in the history of our state? And then without the gas tax, as bad as our roads are now, oh, you don't even want to fathom what they'd be. Yet, like that, Braun comes out and goes, well, gas is getting really bad. It's getting really expensive. If it gets any more expensive for a sustained period of time, I'll consider suspending the gas tax. These two things cannot be true, that the governor can just lickety split, suspend the gas tax if gas gets, and I'm using my words here, too expensive. And then also claim that the gas tax is the only way that we're even able to drive on roads at a time where you're also saying we're so broke when it comes to funding our roads that you need 6.5 billion in new taxes for I-70. What Braun slipped up with here, and this is because Braun craves acceptance. Braun craves acceptance and he's totally subservient to Trump. See the redistricting battle and how badly that went for him when he knew that's how it was going to go, or at least he should have. Why did he do it? Because he was being subservient to Trump, not listening to the people of Indiana. Braun is subservient to Trump, so he's probably getting pressure already from the White House going, hey, you governors, you supportive governors got to do something if the gas continues to go up to help me out. And what was his initial response? Well, internally, you know, at least what he's relaying to you is, oh, yeah, if we get rid of the gas tax, that'll really help you people out. No kidding. That's what some of us have been screaming about for a decade now. The gas tax is a giant scam, and it just like the property tax is a predatory tax that targets you for trying to be a contributor to society, for trying to raise your kids. 72.9 cents of every gallon of gas goes to the government. By the way, as bad as the tax on gases, 54.5 cents between the excise tax and the sales tax as of 2025, July of 2025. And by the way, July 1st is the day it goes up every year. Diesel's even worse. 62 cents per gallon for diesel. Eight, almost eight cents, seven and a half cents above what the gas tax is. This whole thing is rotten. You're getting screwed. And Braun just admitted to you yesterday that it is totally unnecessary.