Highway Trust Fund on a Stairway to Nowhere
Henry Ford’s Model T helped democratize automobile ownership by rendering cars affordable to large segments of America’s middle class. The replacement of the horse by engine generated massive multiplier effects on America’s economy, not only by helping to link both consumers and producers to new markets, but by creating demand for generations of auto workers and triggering demand for complements to automobiles, including gasoline. Soon after, federal government officials saw fit to tax gasoline, thereby generating a steady flow of income.