The responses to this ("but no one would be paying premiums/deductibles/co-pays!") are 1) completely accurate and 2) besides the point *politically* in terms of public perception for large chunks of the public.
Here in MI, @GovWhitmer suggested a $0.45 gas tax to #FixTheDamnRoads. She wasn't insisting on that specific funding mechanism; she was just making the point that *IF* you want the damned roads fixed, it'll cost $2.5B/yr, and that's one way of doing it...
...but that the average driver would actually save money on auto repairs/etc. versus the additional gas tax. I happened to support it (it was to be paired w/other tax cuts for the poor), but it went over like a lead-gasoline balloon, even among most Democrats.
