Well, that was fast.
Less than a day after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had suggested implementing a tax on miles driven as a way to pay for highway construction and maintenance, the Obama Administration has shot the idea down:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will not adopt a policy to tax motorists based on how many miles they drive instead of how much gasoline they buy, his chief spokesman said Friday.
Press secretary Robert Gibbs commented after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press that he wants to consider the idea, which has been proposed in some states but has angered many drivers.
“It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration,” Gibbs told reporters, when asked for the president’s thoughts about the policy and LaHood’s remarks.
So, that’s the end of that, right ?
February 20th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Wow – just when I thought that there was nothing about Obama that I would support… This is excellent news.
February 20th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Actually, this strikes me as at least a logical way of funding roads as a gas tax.
The problem is the way in which it was proposed to be implemented which was, of course, reprehensible.
February 20th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
If our leaders would think things through a little more before they opened their mouths, maybe they could build a level of credibility that our country needs right now.
As for the constant whining from our bureaucrats about not having enough money to do their jobs, I can think of an option that never seems to get mentioned:
YOU CAN ALWAYS START MANAGING THE MONEY YOU HAVE IN A COMPETENT MANNER.
If these people worked in the private sector, they would never rise to middle management.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
James, it is a logical way until you take into account the impracticalities of installing government approved GPS units in every car (I wonder what company will get that contract), and how your privacy will be protected at the same time your every movement is tracked.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Uh, Jonathan, I think that’s what I said. Much more succinctly, of course. Try to take “Yes” for an answer.
‘Fact is, if the government wanted to tax based upon mileage, it would be simple enough to collect data upon the miles driven by reports on the total miles driven by each vehicle annually. It doesn’t take the methodology suggested, which has — as you point out — utterly unnecessary invasions of privacy.
February 21st, 2009 at 10:41 pm
I missed your 2nd sentence. I wasn’t even drinking at the time. Maybe I should start earlier.
February 21st, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I think if we are focusing on the methodology of assessing tax (per mile vs. per gallon) we are missing the true reason for this proposal. It is not about a more efficient assessment. It is about getting more money. A few years ago in my state (PA) we saw both our fuel tax and registration fees raised in one year because it would allow our DOT to fix our roads. Now, our roads still suck and the DOT needs more money again. We could double the budget for almost any government agency and in a few short years, they would need more. It is simply how they operate.
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:39 pm
we have enough problems with the govt miss managing money and between the outsourced jobs thanks to g bush Sr and his nafta shit we are losing our jobs from the illegals and everything being about money we are losing our identity as americans and they are selling everything including us to the highest bidder we need to redo washington shrink the govt control them for once and charge these corporations and bureaucrats with treason for selling jobs and make them put deport the illegals