In 1993, I was in eighth grade, "Whoomp (There It Is)" was at the top of music charts and Bill Clinton was sworn in as president. 

That year also marked the last time the federal gas tax was raised, to 18.4 cents per gallon, in attempt to balance the budget.

The tax, which pays for federal highways and some mass transit, is considered a political non-starter: Don't bother even bringing it up. No one wants it. But an essay on CityLab by Eric Jaffe argues that it's really very possible to raise the tax, considering that our gas taxes are among the lowest in the world and our highways and bridges are going the way of Inca.

In fact - and quite a read in today's age of hyper-partisanship - Jaffe relates the story of Ronald Reagan's bipartisan coup to raise the gas tax in 1982. Check out this hefty history of the '82 gas tax bump, "Reagan Devolution" from the Eno Center for Transportation.

Perhaps more refreshing than a proposal to raise the tax based on historic precendent is Jaffe's call for doing away with the gas tax for something altogether more rational:

The best way to lose this illusion would be to replace the gas tax with a per-mile driving fee that made it painfully clear how much it costs to drive—and that could be adjusted for all the social nuisances that car-reliance creates, from pollution to congestion to traffic deaths. But Davis’s history shows us how difficult it is for federal officials to work with what’s already in front of them. Bold leadership in a brand new direction is something we’re unlikely to see anytime soon.

Is it time to raise the gas tax?