There must be no hike in the gasoline tax

Foster's Daily Democrat uses its editorial page to make the case against raising the gas tax:

The House has proposed a hike of 15 cents in the gasoline tax, a levy that presently stands at 19.6 cents per gallon. The House wants to burn the state's motorists and businesses affected by the gas tax with a 76.5 percent jump in the levy.

The House is either out of touch with the reality of today's economy or it simply does not care. Whichever it is, the Senate ought to reject the proposal without hesitation and the voters' eyes should be tightly focused on the call of the roll when it is taken.

In what kind of make-believe world does the House live? What kind of leadership exists in what is sometimes called the lower chamber?