This would be great!! I hope and pray the dimmies do this.
Right away I see a problem with this, in an overall sense. It would be a PITA (or pocketbook) for those who have long commutes. It would hit them in more than one way - not only miles driven, but also prob. rush hour traffic - & likely highways as opposed to lesser roads. I don't have a problem with taxing items which are in the "sin" category - or wants vs. needs, but this could fall into a different camp.
Cathy
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> "WASHINGTON (AP) < Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to
> consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than
> how much gasoline they burn < an idea that has angered drivers in some
> states where it has been proposed.
>
> Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal
> share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to
> raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving,
> LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press.
>
> "We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually
> clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," the former Illinois
> Republican lawmaker said.
>
> Most transportation experts see a vehicle miles traveled tax as a
> long-term solution, but Congress is being urged to move in that
> direction now by funding pilot projects.
>
> The idea also is gaining ground in several states. Governors in Idaho
> and Rhode Island are talking about such programs, and a North Carolina
> panel suggested in December the state start charging motorists a
> quarter-cent for every mile as a substitute for the gas tax.
>
> A tentative plan in Massachusetts to use GPS chips in vehicles to charge
> motorists by the mile has drawn complaints from drivers who say it's an
> Orwellian intrusion by government into the lives of citizens. Other
> motorists say it eliminates an incentive to drive more fuel-efficient
> cars since gas guzzlers will be taxed at the same rate as fuel sippers. >
> Besides a VMT tax, more tolls for highways and bridges and more
> government partnerships with business to finance transportation projects
> are other funding options, LaHood, one of two Republicans in President
> Barack Obama's Cabinet, said in the interview Thursday.
>
> "What I see this administration doing is this < thinking outside the box
> on how we fund our infrastructure in America," he said.
>
> LaHood said he firmly opposes raising the federal gasoline tax in the
> current recession.
>
> The program that funds the federal share of highway projects is part of
> a surface transportation law that expires Sept. 30. Last fall, Congress
> made an emergency infusion of $8 billion to make up for a shortfall
> between gas tax revenues and the amount of money promised to states for
> their projects. The gap between money raised by the gas tax and the cost
> of maintaining the nation's highway system and expanding it to
> accommodate population growth is forecast to continue to widen.
>
> Among the reasons for the gap is a switch to more fuel-efficient cars
> and a decrease in driving that many transportation experts believe is
> related to the economic downturn. Electric cars and alternative-fuel
> vehicles that don't use gasoline are expected to start penetrating the
> market in greater numbers.
>
> "One of the things I think everyone agrees with around reauthorization
> of the highway bill is that the highway trust fund is an antiquated
> system for funding our highways," LaHood said. "It did work to build the
> interstate system and it was very effective, there's no question about
> that. But the big question now is, We're into the 21st century and how
> are we going to take care of our infrastructure needs ... with a highway
> trust fund that had to be plused up by $8 billion by Congress last year?" >
> A blue-ribbon national transportation commission is expected to release
> a report next week recommending a VMT.
>
> The system would require all cars and trucks be equipped with global
> satellite positioning technology, a transponder, a clock and other
> equipment to record how many miles a vehicle was driven, whether it was
> driven on highways or secondary roads, and even whether it was driven
> during peak traffic periods or off-peak hours.
>
> The device would tally how much tax motorists owed depending upon their
> road use. Motorists would pay the amount owed when it was downloaded,
> probably at gas stations at first, but an alternative eventually would > be needed.
>
> Rob Atkinson, president of the National Surface Transportation
> Infrastructure Financing Commission, the agency that is developing
> future transportation funding options, said moving to a national VMT
> would take about a decade.
>
> Privacy concerns are based more on perception than any actual risk,
> Atkinson said. The satellite information would be beamed one way to the
> car and driving information would be contained within the device on the
> car, with the amount of the tax due the only information that's
> downloaded, he said.
>
> The devices also could be programmed to charge higher rates to vehicles
> that are heavier, like trucks that put more stress on roadways, Atkinson > said.
> --
>
>
> "It's deja vu all over again"
> Yogi Berra
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