Indiana Governor Mike Braun Disappears on Gas Tax Suspension

Our friends over at Hoosier Ag Today—if you haven’t heard of them, they do exactly what it sounds like, covering agriculture in the state of Indiana—had a big article. They didn’t word it like this, but I will: the scam continues when it comes to the gas tax. Our friends at Hoosier Ag Today pointed out what we said last week, but they actually put numbers behind it. You are about to see your gas tax go up at a time when gas is already skyrocketing, because of the way gas is taxed in the state of Indiana. Just as a reminder—and I know most of you watching this show already know this, you’re very involved. If you’re listening on the podcast, you probably know it too. But we have new people coming in all the time, so let’s remind everyone how gas is taxed in Indiana, because our Republicans in the General Assembly are financial predators. First, there is an 18-cent federal tax on gas. That has nothing to do with the state of Indiana. It’s what the federal government levies on gasoline, and it hasn’t changed in years—well over a decade. The state has two taxes on gas. There’s a special gas tax that I believe is 36 cents per gallon. It’s set to go up again on July 1st. It increases one penny every year on July 1st without debate, discussion, or review. Think about that for accountable government. The tax just goes up automatically. Why? Because that’s what they said would happen. Is the money being used wisely? Who knows. But the tax goes up every year. Then there is a sales tax on gas, just like there is a sales tax on everything else. When you go to the store and buy things, you pay 7 percent sales tax. The gas tax works the same way. So when the price of gas goes up, the state takes more money from you. How rotten is that? According to Hoosier Ag Today—and remember, the sales tax on gas is calculated every month—on April 1st the sales tax on gas is set to rise 2.1 cents per gallon from March. That’s according to the Indiana Department of Revenue, cited by Hoosier Ag Today. So beginning April 1st, you’re going to pay 2.1 cents more per gallon simply because the price of gas went up. Does that make sense to anyone? Does that seem rational? We’re supposedly concerned about the price of gas, but because the price goes up, you get hit with more taxes. That’s the system in Indiana. Hoosier Ag Today did some math. Motorists across the country are now paying the highest gas prices in more than two years. In Indiana, gasoline prices have jumped about $1.20 since the war with Iran began. We’re basically a month into that conflict. One of our first segments on this show was about the war when the military operation had just started. In one month, gas is up $1.20. According to Hoosier Ag Today, it’s about $1.37 higher since February 27th. That’s the situation. But the bigger question in all of this is: where is Mike Braun? We laid this out at the time and then reminded you again last week. On March 9th, Mike Braun, the governor of Indiana, said that if gas prices didn’t improve in two to three weeks, and if the Strait of Hormuz—where roughly 20 percent of the nation’s oil flows through—was not open, he would strongly consider suspending the gas tax. Well, public school math tells me that March 30th is 21 days from March 9th. That’s three weeks. There are seven days in a week. Seven times three is 21. So we are now at the high end of his deadline. This is another example of Mike Braun saying something in the moment to get a headline and then failing to follow through. At the time he said it, gas was about $3.48 per gallon. Gas is still hovering around the $4 range in many places. I did see it go down slightly over the weekend, but where I live it was still around $3.90. Even if we give him the benefit of the doubt and say $3.90, that’s still 42 cents higher than when he made his proclamation on March 9th. So why isn’t Mike Braun acting? Why is he not suspending the gas tax? Every standard he laid out hasn’t been met. Gas is not more affordable. It’s higher. The Strait of Hormuz isn’t open. None of the conditions he named have improved. Why isn’t Mike Braun out today saying: the standards I laid out haven’t been met, it’s been three weeks, we’re suspending the gas tax? And the bigger question is this: other than this show right here, why are the other media outlets not demanding answers? He made the proclamation himself. Nobody forced him to do it. Why are the conservative commentators, radio hosts, television personalities, influencers, and activists who regularly meet with Braun at the governor’s mansion not holding him accountable? Why aren’t they leading with this question? Why are they giving him a free pass? Every state representative should be forced to explain why they aren’t calling on Mike Braun to follow through on suspending the gas tax. Every state senator should be asked why they aren’t publicly calling him out. He said it. Everyone heard it. It was reported in multiple outlets. There’s no ambiguity. He said if things weren’t fixed in two to three weeks—which they aren’t—they’d likely suspend the gas tax. Why isn’t that happening? We have to start holding not just politicians accountable, but also the media and the influencers who claim they’re influential but refuse to challenge politicians. That means pushing back on people who are supposed to be on our side but aren’t acting like it. Every one of these politicians who constantly talk about fighting for you should be asked a simple question: do you believe the gas tax should go up when the price of gas goes up? If the answer is no, then why aren’t you calling on the governor to suspend it? This is about people being able to afford to go to work, afford to take their kids to daycare, afford groceries. Yet nobody is holding these people accountable. Why is every member of the media not leading with this question when they see Mike Braun? You said this on March 9th. Gas is higher now. Your conditions haven’t been met. Why aren’t you suspending the gas tax? Because the gas tax isn’t just bad policy. It’s part of a bigger issue with Braun. He says things constantly and doesn’t follow through. Everyone should be asking his lieutenant governor the same thing. You were elected to be a check and balance. Do you think the gas tax should go up with the price of gas? If not, why aren’t you holding Braun accountable? The same questions should be asked of every statewide officeholder and every member of Indiana’s congressional delegation. If they think the system is unfair, why aren’t they calling it out? We have to start holding these people accountable for the nonsense they sell to the public. That’s why this show is popular. We don’t have a political team. You are the team. These people invent problems, create issues, and then pretend they’re solving them. Meanwhile they’ve been running this state for twenty years, and look around. Public education is a mess. Funding systems are backwards. You have high-performing districts receiving less money than failing ones. Imagine your workplace rewarding the worst employee with the most money while the top performer gets less. That’s the logic. Medicaid is hundreds of millions of dollars underwater. Infrastructure problems continue. Almost every major system in this state has serious issues. Yet conservative media figures and political insiders just pat each other on the back and say “great job.” And if someone points out the failures, they’re told they’re negative. So again, why are we the only ones demanding Mike Braun follow through on his own promise? That’s the question everyone should be asking today—state representatives, state senators, statewide officeholders, conservative media personalities, and influencers. They should all be doing what we’re doing here: demanding answers and calling out anyone who refuses to fight for you.