Bankrupt Highway Trust Fund Could Put Hundreds of Thousands Out of Work

Ouch, this is NOT what our economy needs. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says if the Highway Trust Fund goes belly-up, 700,000 Americans could soon be out of work. The Trust Fund is expected to run out of funds by August or September of 2014 at the rate it's going. That's because it's dependent on the gas tax, but revenue from the tax is going down because cars are more fuel-efficient than when the tax was passed and more people are using alternatives to driving alone.

So what does Foxx have in mind to fix the problem and keep those folks working?The Christian Post has the story.

Will The Highway Trust Fund Go Bankrupt?

Well, this isn't reassuring. Especially when your job is in the transportation sector. Washington State's on Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) says the “threat is growing” of a bankruptcy in the Department of Transportation’s Highway Trust Fund.

Murray took the Senate floor yesterday to warn lawmakers of the consequences of allowing the fund, used to pay for road and transit projects, to run out of money this year.

Murray pointed out that the fund pays for projects that create jobs and keep our economy moving. It could reach critically low levels by July though. What happens if that's the case? And what could be done to prevent it? And how are the effects already being felt? "The Hill" looks at the situation.

Highway Trust Fund On Track To Run Dry In 2+ Years

Well this isn't the news I was hoping to hear; the money that the federal government uses to pay its share of transportation projects will run out in little more than two years, congressional forecasters say.
In a report to U.S. House members, the Congressional Budget Office said, “The current trajectory of the Highway Trust Fund is unsustainable.” So how to keep the Highway Trust Fund in the black? The report included a couple options, but none are very likely to happen.

Here are the details, from Stateline.