When gas taxes aren't enough...
Well, just when you thought that the government couldn't be fickle enough, here comes the latest way to gouge the public for a basic service. In a CBS News story from yesterday, apparently the influx of hybrid and clean-fuel vehicles is having an unforeseen effect: gas tax collections are down since these vehicles use less or no gasoline. Since the states' coffers are beginning to feel the effect of this, several states are now toying with the idea of making motorists pay by the mile to use the roads & highways. And not just the hybrids & clean-fuel cars, but ALL vehicles would be subject to this new tolling/taxation system. Talk about a double edged sword, this is it.
We all pay taxes at the pump when we fill our tanks, and these taxes are supposed to go directly into road budgets for maintenance and construction. When states build a toll road, it is understood that drivers have the option to pay the toll or find another route that is free of charge; thus the toll is a voluntary fee paid for a convenience, much like an ATM fee. However, under this new scheme to drain our wallets, you won't have a choice; you'll be forced to pay a toll on any road that you travel in what amounts to one of the largest double-taxation schemes ever devised. And of course, you and I won't have a say in the matter since our elected representatives seem to lose sight of the pesky fact that they are supposed to represent our interests, and one of those is LOWER TAXES.
Folks, if the states are truly having problems building roads & maintaining them, we need to tell our legislators to stop useless spending, trim pork projects and put the tax money back into the transportation budgets. Also, they need to stand up to the D.C. bunch and stop sending their tax money to Washington so that Congress can dole it out as they see fit and force the states to "tow the line" on various demands that D.C. makes, many of which are ridiculous at best and borderline unconstitutional at worse. Either way, this sounds like another attempt to force us out of our cars and into mass transit, but that's another column for another day.
We all pay taxes at the pump when we fill our tanks, and these taxes are supposed to go directly into road budgets for maintenance and construction. When states build a toll road, it is understood that drivers have the option to pay the toll or find another route that is free of charge; thus the toll is a voluntary fee paid for a convenience, much like an ATM fee. However, under this new scheme to drain our wallets, you won't have a choice; you'll be forced to pay a toll on any road that you travel in what amounts to one of the largest double-taxation schemes ever devised. And of course, you and I won't have a say in the matter since our elected representatives seem to lose sight of the pesky fact that they are supposed to represent our interests, and one of those is LOWER TAXES.
Folks, if the states are truly having problems building roads & maintaining them, we need to tell our legislators to stop useless spending, trim pork projects and put the tax money back into the transportation budgets. Also, they need to stand up to the D.C. bunch and stop sending their tax money to Washington so that Congress can dole it out as they see fit and force the states to "tow the line" on various demands that D.C. makes, many of which are ridiculous at best and borderline unconstitutional at worse. Either way, this sounds like another attempt to force us out of our cars and into mass transit, but that's another column for another day.
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