Fall guy for Obama on a trial balloon that went terribly wrong?

{^_-}

herself on February 22, 2009 at 4:12 AM

Yes. I absolutely believe so.

Ed, New Zealand has had a “mileage tax” for years. It’s called the Road User Charge (RUC) and is levied in 1000km increments, for any vehicle that uses diesel fuel, rather than a fuel tax at the pump.

The RUC fee can be paid in multiple 1000km increments. Drivers are given a card that goes on the windshield. If the vehicle is pulled over by police, and it is subject to RUC, police can cite the driver if the RUC card is “expired” by more than 500km from the odometer reading.

I don’t agree with the concept of RUC, but I wanted to show you that there is a way to tax mileage without requiring people to be tracked by satellite.

-Wanderlust

Wanderlust on February 22, 2009 at 6:04 AM

I’m not normally a conspiracy buff, but this idea being floated on both national and state levels, while making so little sense, worries me that the point is to track by satellite.

If we actually begin to use less energy across the board, our friendly all inclusive government will be forced to generate revenues somehow by changing the rules. And does anyone rationally think BP or ComEd will be okay with customers using 30% less product?

Start buying breeding mules.

trs on February 21, 2009 at 10:53 AM

Nitpicking here, but mules are sterile.

And even my thoroughbred won’t be able to get me to work since I drive 50+ miles.

The RUC fee can be paid in multiple 1000km increments. Drivers are given a card that goes on the windshield. If the vehicle is pulled over by police, and it is subject to RUC, police can cite the driver if the RUC card is “expired” by more than 500km from the odometer reading.

I don’t agree with the concept of RUC, but I wanted to show you that there is a way to tax mileage without requiring people to be tracked by satellite.

-Wanderlust

{^_-}

Corporate America needs to Buy some Congress people…..Pay to Play….

Oh, that would be “competent cabinet member”.

Now if they could tie their shoelaces without falling over I’d feel a bit more confident of their abilities.

This is just amazing… Obama is going to fully redeem Bush, and he’s going to do it in months, not years as I expected. He really is faster off the mark than I dreamed he could be.

The wonder of this isn’t that the White House rebuked its own Transportation Secretary. The wonder of this is that LaHood didn’t get canned.

Wow, dismiss your Transportation Secretary for making a suggestion?

Isn’t the current system effectively a tax on mileage? You drive more, you use more gas. You drive a hybid you use less gas so you are taxed less for the same mileage as an SUV. The current system seems to address the “problem” nicely. If it’s not bringing in enough revenue, consider LOWERING the tax, so there is an incentive to drive more.

Oh wait, the real goal is make driving cost prohibitive to save the planet from greenhouse gases. My bad.

…the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said in the AP interview.

And now you know why the Republican party in Illinois is dead.

We have a love triangle (hydra?) that is nearing implosion.
Who do you serve Auto Industry?

They are just testing the public and will continue to do so until they have enough dumb democrats to ram it through.

Blake on February 21, 2009 at 11:25 AM

You are correct. I work in the toll road industry and can tell you with a high level of confidence that this method of taxation is coming. It’s just a matter of time.

The thinking is this: The Pols don’t dare index the gas tax to inflation or vote for large periodic increases and vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient. Add it up and the revenue needed to maintain roads becomes increasingly insufficient every passing year.

Secondly, what is all this nonsense about a GPS? Hasn’t any of these politicians ever heard of a thing called an odometer?
kurtzz3 on February 21, 2009 at 11:34 AM

It could be done by odometer, but the system would not be able to implement zone pricing or congestion pricing without a GPS. Don’t think for a second they would go through all the trouble of converting to per mile tolling and miss out on the ability for each state, city or county to have a say in what the toll needs to be on what type of road at what time of day.

The issue of privacy is generally brushed off as something we gave up a long time ago when we started relying so heavily on credit cards.

Oh, and don’t think that this is just an Obama or Lahood or Democrat thing. This idea is supported by leaders in the industry and past administrations. Obama seems to have hung Lahood out to dry because of the response.

Too many of these Obama team ideas float out as trial balloons to be accidental. Similarly, the Friday release of Executive Orders and other policy decisions smacks of deceit.