I'm imagining the following discussion.

"Look - if we raise gas taxes by a nickel a gallon every month for a few years, here's what you'll get out of it.. The potholes will be fixed - your local DOT's won't have to ever utter the word 'deferred maintenance' again. On top of that we can build good public trnsit - like they have in Europe. And you know what? That'll make your car last longer since you won't HAVE to drive it as much. You'll have OPTIONS. Funny thing is, when gas is $7-$9/gal (as in the UK) people still drive and economies still work."