To the editor:
House Speaker Sal DiMasi is absolutely on target when he suggests a gas-tax increase should be considered to pay transportation debts. That's a far fairer way to tax than to rely on a few toll roads going into Boston, a method that penalizes residents of the North Shore.
And now, with gas prices much reduced, it would be a far less painful way to raise the necessary revenue than most any other way.
The gas tax has another benefit, a benefit which is served the steeper the tax.
Painful as it is, our civilization has little survival chance unless we curb our carbon footprint. A gas tax forces us into more efficient vehicles and greater use of public transportation.
So it's a twofer.
Bill Wasserman
Ipswich
