WASHINGTON – Raise federal gasoline taxes to help pay for road projects? Not during a recession, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has said. Then how about moving toward a system that finances highway construction by charging motorists by the mile?
… Last week, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press that a vehicle-miles-traveled tax was an idea that should be considered to shore up the trust fund.
The report recommends moving to such a tax, which would mean equipping cars and trucks with a device that uses GPS technology to track the number of miles driven and compute the tax owed. The amount could be adjusted to charge more for travel during peak traffic hours.
Commission members said the transition to a national system would take about 10 years.
The concept was tried in a pilot program in Oregon. Idaho's governor is talking about it. A North Carolina panel suggested in December the state start charging motorists a quarter-cent for every mile as a substitute for the gas tax. …
Since the inception of our great constitution we have had a multitude of original “freedoms” severely restricted or abruptly denied, especially in the past fifty years. A few people realize what is happening to our so-called democracy, and some speak out to curtail our slide into oppression.
But it’s time we, the “average American,” stop shrugging our shoulders, thinking our elected officials will “do what’s right,” always with our best interests in mind. Clearly, that is not happening.
Many of our politicians are corrupt—in the truest criminal sense of the word, or at the very least, have their own “best interests” at heart, whether that coincides with their constituents’ or not.
We need to begin taking more interest and action individually and collectively on more issues, than we have in the past. Though we’ve often stepped in on obviously oppressive issues, it’s the “little,” annoying, but deceptively far-reaching ones like a per-mile drivers tax, which will lead to an Orwellian lifestyle before we even know what happened.
Has Mr. LaHood seriously considered the broader ramifications of a per-mile tax? This is such an uneven levy that it isn’t even funny. There would be exemptions, right? Of course—municipal vehicles, emergency vehicles, those who drive for a living (truck drivers, taxis, etc.)—but what about senior Americans on a fixed budget? Would you give more concessions to low-income folks?
The very rich don’t give a rat’s a— —. And let me guess—you and your political cronies will have immunity. So that leaves … ummmm, let me see, who does that leave to pay your new per-mile tax? Oh yes … see that guy and gal over there? You can spot ‘em a mile away—they’re the ones who are walking hunched over with the financial burden of their congressmen/women’s decisions over the past 50 years.
The “average American”—middle-class citizens working harder for less pay and enjoyment these days—is your beast of burden. Let’s visit a few already-strapped taxpayer and business scenarios:
- with recent hijacked gas costs, commuters will endure yet another blow to their pocketbooks (IF they’re still employed), just to drive to work—what does that do to their dwindling paychecks?
o public transportation and carpooling simply does not work for everyone
- consider “wasted” miles that we all experience at one time or another and the mental anguish a per-mile tax adds to the moment’s irritation, because you’re ticking off the miles in your head:
o detours for road construction or accident (double whammy) – cha-ching!
o directions unclear, you’re lost (I’ve spent 10 miles going the wrong way!) – cha-ching!
o no parking—you go around in circles for 2 miles’ worth hunting for a space – cha-ching!
o family emergency requires an unexpected trip—under 100 miles, we generally drive (another double, maybe even triple whammy, considering dollars and emotions) – cha-ching!
- recently crippled by high fuel costs, the tourism industry will suffer again, when folks not wanting to fly (or not able for whatever reason), would normally drive to a vacation destination; they will (again) stay home
- rental cars would likely not be exempt—which means the rental car industry would raise their prices and traveling businessmen are hit—again
We’re being nickel-and-dimed to death. Every time we turn the ignition, we’ll wonder how much more this trip is going to cost us at the end of the year. I don’t know about you, but I have enough to worry about.
Our housing, construction, and mortgage businesses are floundering—many people who couldn’t afford their suburban homes in the first place, are moving back into the city to save money (not to mention they likely lost their homes).
A per-mile tax will create another bass-ackwards (sic) mass Exodus to city life—suburban communities will become ghost towns and already overcrowded cities will choke with humanity. We’re doing anything and everything to save money now—and you want to burden us some more. Thanks for that.
And tell me, what does all this do to the spending the government needs us to do in order to help stabilize the economy? I shudder to think of the psychological effects this tax would have on all of us.
The past couple of years saw ever-increasing gasoline prices, coupled with fears of global warming. It curtailed our driving—which Americans used to love to do—the lure of the open road for a vacation, or a quiet drive in the country, has suffered dramatically.
With a per-mile tax in place, even a 5-mile R&R trip to the beach or a park once a week would create yet another financial worry and aggravation. So much for cheap fun.
Along with neighborhood violence, prohibitive costs of recreation, and the “time is money” attitude, each year sees more of us forced to hunker down in our homes. Will we become the automatons of Orwell’s imagination?
I don’t profess to be a politician with all the answers ( ! ), but there must be a better way to add another tax to our over-burdened backs than taking away our dreams of exploring this beautiful country in a road trip.
Combined with all of our other frustrations this tax would be an unwanted cause of internal unrest and anger—which is already manifested in our frenetic lifestyles by our society, and pours into our lives in the form of physical abuse and violence, at an alarming rate.
Go ahead—throw some more fuel on our freedom pyres.
