Much of the talk surrounding the proposed 5-cent-a-gallon increase in the gas tax suggests this move is needed because cars have become more efficient and thereby consumption is, if not actually down, not where it might otherwise be to keep revenues sufficient to maintain our roads and bridges. It’s curious, however, that the facts suggest exactly the opposite.

According to several responsible state agencies, energy consumption in Maine is way up. In 1983, Maine people drove 7.9 million miles. By 1995, the last year for which we have data, that figure was 12.6 million miles, an increase of almost 60 percent. It’s not surprising when one considers there are 286,000 more vehicles registered in Maine than in 1983. Some would have us believe that most of these are energy-efficient compact cars, but the best-selling vehicle in Maine is not a car, but a full-size truck. Moreover, these trucks and sport utility vehicles are not intended or expected to be “good on gas.” According to an article in the Maine Sunday Telegram a few months ago, average miles per gallon has been declining since 1988.

What with downsizing, plant closings, layoffs and company restructuring, affected Maine workers find themselves having to travel greater distances just to maintain sufficient employment to keep food on the table. While some of these folks have those less-than-fuel-efficient pickup trucks and SUVs, likely purchased when things for them were better, the others are more likely than not to be driving a much older gas guzzler. Either way, they are exactly the people least able to pick up yet another 5 gents a gallon, more than a 25 percent increase.

It’s a sad state of affairs when we have so little concern or compassion for all those earning the minimum wage — many of whom are women and single heads of households, as to deny them even a modest increase while eagerly suggesting this proposed hike in the gas tax is so samll as to be hardly noticed. John R. Hanson Bangor