Where does the gasoline tax then go to? Are we just so numb to government pork that any new tax burden is immediately accepted as long as it 'sounds right'?
The gasoline tax goes to maintaining the roads that are owned by the entity that levies the gasoline tax. In many areas that's just the state and federal governments, and not one red cent of it will go to pay for the street you live on.
Municipalities frequently use property taxes to cover roads, but that's potentially a poor way to pay for the extra infrastructure costs associated with curbside parking. In major cities it would be downright regressive, since a lot of less-wealthy people don't own cars. It also fails to account for the fact that in denser areas there simply isn't room for everyone to own a car - and in such a situation it's not necessarily so great (and certainly more authoritarian) to expect everyone to pay for parking regardless of whether they'll be using it. And it fails to account for the fact that many people own cars, but acquire the location they use to store their car when they're not using it on the private market (perhaps by building a garage on their property, perhaps by renting a space in someone else's lot or garage).
It's unfortunate that Americans' way of thinking about taxes has become so distorted that they'll knee-jerk dismiss a tax they're not familiar with using weasel words like "pork", even when that tax is actually more equitable and economically efficient.
In the US, property taxes are probably more relevant, unless the road is a major one maintained by the state.
But the same principle applies, these street parking spaces are in front of residential property that's paying into the city's coffers, which the residents pay, directly if owners, through their rent if renters.
