The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
Bingo! That's why most people would be opposed to it. Pretty much your right to transit, property, and privacy would all be breached in one move.Isnt it just easier to tax gazoline? Thats sort of a milage tax.:mrgreen:
What you are actually saying here just sounds like an excuse to surveillance cars.
It isn't always about like, in my area higher vehicles like trucks are almost a requirement because of flooding, not only that, outside of my city is almost exclusively farming, try doing that in a Prius:doh, I would rather drive a two-seater or similar performance/fun car, but my hobby is drums, can't fit that in a smaller vehicle, a mileage tax would pretty much kill my area.Mileage taxes will be used to tax people out of larger vehicles they like to drive.
Seems like it would be unavoidable.Higher tax rates will be charged for heavier vehicles.
I think that is part of it.The government in their effort to prevent people from realizing they are paying taxes, (by charging it on bulk gasoline, instead of directly to the consumer) have prevented themselves from using their taxing power to social engineer people. They have now decided that it's more important for people to know it's going to cost them more to drive gas guzzling vehicles than it is to conceal the taxation.I can't support it under any conditions, it's the principle of more taxes to cover government mismanagement of their existing revenues, and the principle of smaller government that forms my particular opinion, plus, I am tired of these elected representatives having the opinion that we work for them.That being said, IF the mileage tax replaced the gas tax, and IF the mileage tax was charged to everyone at the same rate, including bicycles and walkers that use the road, and IF it's charged to each person riding a bus, I would support it.
I wholeheartedly agree.NEVER, NEVER GPS except for public government run buses, to determine the charge to the rider.
Should tracking devices be installed inside vehicles in order to charge mileage taxes?
Albany Democrat Herald: Archived Articles
A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.
Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.
As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”
What that means is explained on the governor’s website:
“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.
The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
A government claiming they want to track your mileage by installing a GPS in your car is such a transparent attempt at spying its laughable. Why the hell wouldn't you just the the odometer, which all cars already have, is more reliable and can't be used to horribly abuse your privacy?
Obama is proposing massive infrastructure 'investment' while we're in a depression, so the money to pay for these programs, despite the fact that they will fail, has to come from somewhere.
Jerry said:Punishing private transportation will encourage the use of the proposed public transportation.
Jerry said:The plan will fail in the long run because the government can't make a return on an investment.
Jerry said:Bearly enough money to ride a buss to work....that’s the "change" we weed :roll:
Actually it is. We need much better bus systems and metro systems in our urban areas. We need airports and trains that don't suck. And we need to bring our power grid and highways into the 21st century.
I'd rather have a gasoline tax. It would be an easier, less intrusive, more efficient, more environmental way of charging user fees for the roads. And it would have the added benefit of improving our national security.
Why do you think that infrastructure investment will fail? The Interstate Highway System worked out pretty well. What is your alternative? Let our highways, bridges, levies, and power grids decay into a state of total disrepair?
That's the idea.
You just said that it will encourage the use of public transportation. Which is it?
Actually it is. We need much better bus systems and metro systems in our urban areas. We need airports and trains that don't suck. And we need to bring our power grid and highways into the 21st century.
The 600 billion and counting that you spent in Iraq could have done all that.
Which cities except New York in the US actually have a metro system, tram system and a bus system?
Most cities have either a metro or a bus system (or neither) here...very few have both. And the ones that do generally have really bad systems.
New York, Washington, and San Francisco have the best public transit IMO. This is mainly because geography prevents these cities from sprawling. Chicago also has a surprisingly decent metro system despite the massive urban sprawl. I've heard that Boston's transit system is pretty good too, although I haven't been there in years so I don't know.
The worst public transit systems in my experience are found in geographically enormous cities in the southwest: Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and anywhere in Texas.
Of the big cities I have only been in Miami, Orlando and Atlanta. None of them have anything. Its ridiculous from a European perspective.
Here most cities even in eastern Europe have both Bus and Tramway, and most cities in the west also have metros in addition, and some in the east also.
Its quite normal for smaller cities to have a bus system which is well developed in addition to trams.. In addition there are trains between all European cities. In many countries they have trains going out even to the smallest cities. In Germany the infrastructure is just stunning.
I was visiting a small town(40.000) in the former east of Germany. It was far from any big city, yet it was connected to an amazing train grid that could take you to any big city anywhere in the proximity of 300km, and there you could get transit to huge cities not only in Germany but in Europe. But th city, called Suhl that I visited had several trains going to tiny suburbs around it, in addition to buses of course. It was just amazing, the roads and sidewalks were also just perfect and nice. And this was all in the middle of nowhere! If you live there you dont actually need a car at all, you can get just about anywhere without one. Germany I think have the superior infrastructure of Europe, incredibly dense and well developed.
I lived in Belgium and the Netherlands, they have trains between all small and large cities, even villages. The cities have trams, buses and metros, and the large cities have trains going to London, Paris(and other places in France), Western Germany and so on.. Its fabulous I must say. I was dissapointed when I lived in Ireland, they only had buses, and one major metro line in Dublin, and trams which only covered the inner city, and bad trains going between the cities. That was bad infrastructure in my eyes.
When I was in the US I found it IMPOSSIBLE to get around without a car, the distances was also huge between any meaningful places in the same city.
I find it strange the differences.
We have a fascination with driving our own asses places. Also, I've met several people from Europe whom are well surprised at how seriously Americans take their traffic laws. We stop for pedestrians and such, and they claim that doesn't happen oft where they're from (though I've known a disproportionately large number of Germans...maybe they're just crazy there).
Ikari said:We don't have a lot in the ways of public transport, maybe that should change. But we have cars and roads and people seem to be able to handle it; so let them take care of themselves.
I agree though, we are long overdo for some major investment in public transit. It will never be as economical for us as it is for the Europeans, but that's no excuse not to do it. We don't need a state-of-the-art train system criss-crossing every small town in America like the Europeans do, but we do at least need a modern high-speed train system that connects every large and medium-sized city in the country, and a decent bus or metro system in every large city.
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