Nothing is as gratifying as letting somebody else pay

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is broke and needs lots of cash for Boston's Central Artery program (read: that money hole known as the "Big Dig.") Today the Boston Globe had an editorial suggesting the best way to support the MTA's budget and, as usual, the citizens of Western Massachusetts are expected to suffer for Boston's chronic malfeasance:

The commission is sure to propose a range of choices, but the one that should be the centerpiece is that bulwark of highway finance -- the gasoline tax. The state tax now stands at 23.5 cents per gallon (with 2.5 cents reserved for disposal of old service-station tanks.) The 21 cents reserved for transportation expenses hasn't been raised since 1991. Inflation alone has cut the value of the tax to 14 cents.

With gasoline prices so high, few motorists are going to like an increase, but the governor and Legislature have an obligation to keep the Turnpike Authority solvent, equalize the burden of paying for the artery, and finance other transportation initiatives around the state.

Once state government accepts the need for a tax hike, it can engage in a conversation about whether, and where, turnpike tolls should be phased out. With or without tolls, the gasoline tax needs to go up.

Of course it does because raising tolls on Boston commuters alone would be, well, unfair to those Bay Staters who already swallow up almost the entire MTA budget. Spread the pain to everybody in the state - that's the Massachusetts way.

Also: I love love love! the debate over whether turnpike tolls "should" be phased out. That'll happen when Ted Kennedy joins AA.