Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wants to tax you by the mileage you drive instead of the gas you consume. Let’s put aside the privacy problems with having the government give you some device to track how far you drive. And let’s put aside the obvious fact that they will not replace the gas tax with a mileage tax, but instead you will end up paying both. History clearly shows this will happen. They will leave the gas tax out there as a sin-tax and probably raise it incredibly high as an “incentive” to drive more eco-friendly cars.
Why does Sec. LaHood want to do this? Clearly he has looked into his crystal ball and sees a Utopian future where gasoline is no longer being used and the government needs to make up the revenue somewhere. Also, there has recently been a drop in gas tax revenues due to the sudden drop in gas prices and consumption. Assuming this diabolical plan to rid us of carbon based fuels works, the money will be made up with a mileage tax which will not care what vehicle you drive since gasoline powered engines will be obsolete. And because we need to always have a progressive tax system to punish evil people and corporations with bigger vehicles, he is also recommending that higher rates be charged to heavier vehicles such as trucks.
UPDATE:Fortunately President Obama shot down this idea mere hours after his own Cabinet member recommended it. (More common sense points awarded) Transportation department spokeswoman Lori Irving, “The policy of taxing motorists based on how many miles they have traveled is not and will not be Obama administration policy,” Obama really has to have a meeting or something and get his Cabinet in-sync and on-message.
So this brings us to the bigger question. What is the plan for determining what fuel to use in the future? I’m not really sure there is one.
People are just starting to figure out that biofuels will cause drastic water shortages. It will also cause food shortages by using up valuable farm land and drive up the cost of staples like corn. And what happens when natural disasters strike wiping out the fuel supplies?
We aren’t supposed to use carbon-based fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas because of the effect on the environment. Also it funds our enemies and there is only a finite supply anyways. One day we will run out.
Nuclear fuel creates radioactive waste that nobody wants to store in their backyard and try putting a nuclear reactor in a car. Talk about your car bombs. Wouldn’t that excite the terrorists.
Electric fuel right now requires the burning of some carbon fuel or nuclear energy to produce the electricity so I guess that’s out.
What else is there?? Solar, wind, and water. Good for the environment. Endlessly renewable. Yet unbelievably expensive and inefficient at the moment. Someone has to figure out a way to make these technologies work. Until then can we really afford to say no to everything we currently have available?
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