Gas taxes fuel spending.

ITEM: The Asbury Park Press (N.J.) for January 12 reported that there was a push for more gas taxes, saying, "Road conditions are so bad that Congress is considering raising the 18.4-cent federal gasoline tax by 8 cents." The article also maintained: "Despite concerns about deteriorating roads, federal lawmakers are expected to keep diverting gasoline tax revenues for enhancements when they vote on a new six-year highway spending bill later this year."

BETWEEN THE LINES: Literally billions of dollars in so-called federal highway funds have been spent over the last decade on projects having nothing to do with highway maintenance and that fall outside the proper purview of the federal government.

No doubt many in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, were delighted when "free" money descended on their bike path, but that doesn't make it an appropriate use of federal funds. There are 16,000 such "enhancement" projects whose funding was federally mandated, including:

* rebricking streets and putting up decorative lighting in Zanesville, Ohio:

* maintaining a train exhibit in Great Falls, Montana;

* renovating the Palace Theater in Crossville. Tennessee:

* running a white squirrel sanctuary in Gibson County, Tennessee: and

* repairing a covered bridge in Newfield, New York.

States must spend about 2 percent of federal highway dollars on such projects.

If states and localities deem such projects to be vital, shouldn't they raise the necessary monies? Local taxpayers would certainly be better able to judge if the funds were well spent.

Meanwhile, consider how much you pump into, say, squirrel sanctuaries when you fill your gas tank. The current federal gasoline tax is 18.4 cents per gallon, while state gas taxes average 22 cents per gallon. State and federal taxes combined total more than $50 billion annually, or (on the average) $660 per family, according to Americans for Tax Reform.