Big Gov. At Work

[naomibee]

http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/big-brother-wants-to-tax-your-car-mileage/#qzRAebSfmkJDdZU3.99


As America’s road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car.

The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center of a controversial attempt in Washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding America’s major roads.

The usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances. Libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive, and possibly where you drive them — then use the information to draw up a tax bill.

I think this is just one more thing to add to all the other things to take our freedoms away.

 

[007]

Next it will be ankle bracelets and a sidewalk tax.

 

[DGS49]

A few things to consider:

One 18-wheeler or loaded tri-axle or tanker truck does more damage to the roadway than a thousand cars. In fact, if the only vehicles on the road were passenger cars, they could make all roads out of concrete and they would last forever (if properly constituted and cured).

Road taxes are ALREADY paid according to mileage, because they are part of the price we pay for gasoline. And they are automatically proportional because the heavier the vehicle is, the worse its gas mileage, so the person driving an Excursion pays three times as much "road tax" as his wife who drives a Fiesta.

Maybe someone is concerned that people driving a Chevy Volt aren't paying any gas taxes.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Many roads ARE concrete. The problem being: it's harder to repair than asphalt, and calcium chloride (rock salt) just EATS it.

 

[DGS49]

The other problem with concrete is that it is more susceptible to damage (spalling) due to temperature fluctuations and water entrainment. But if properly formulated, poured, and cured, it can last decades.

I often wonder how much of a premium the U.S. taxpayer pays in the long run as a result of the custom of always awarding contracts to the "low bidder." How many corners are cut? How many substitutions of cheap materials that barely meet the specifications (or don't meet the specifications, but are undetectable).

We'll never know.

 

[Spiderman]

Big Brother wants to tax your car mileage


As America’s road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car.

The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center of a controversial attempt in Washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding America’s major roads.

The usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances. Libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive, and possibly where you drive them — then use the information to draw up a tax bill.

I think this is just one more thing to add to all the other things to take our freedoms away.

We pay billions of dollars a year in gas taxes and the morons in gov't can't find money to repair the roads?

Can anyone tell me where all the money from gas taxes is going?

 

[naomibee]

Big Brother wants to tax your car mileage


As America’s road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car.

The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center of a controversial attempt in Washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding America’s major roads.

The usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances. Libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive, and possibly where you drive them — then use the information to draw up a tax bill.

I think this is just one more thing to add to all the other things to take our freedoms away.

We pay billions of dollars a year in gas taxes and the morons in gov't can't find money to repair the roads?

Can anyone tell me where all the money from gas taxes is going?

they line there pockets with our money any way they can. all state and Gov. run organizations.

 

[DGS49]

We could save 20-25% instantaneously if they would simply repeal Davis Bacon, a law that was created out of racism and has no rational reason for existence today.

 

[rdean]

Big Brother wants to tax your car mileage


As America’s road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car.

The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center of a controversial attempt in Washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding America’s major roads.

The usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances. Libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive, and possibly where you drive them — then use the information to draw up a tax bill.

I think this is just one more thing to add to all the other things to take our freedoms away.

We pay billions of dollars a year in gas taxes and the morons in gov't can't find money to repair the roads?

Can anyone tell me where all the money from gas taxes is going?

America's Most Obvious Tax Reform Idea: Kill the Oil and Gas Subsidies

Subsidies for oil companies are expensive. Republicans will never let those subsidies end. They would rather cut school lunches for poor children, programs for veterans and help for the elderly. Something everyone knows. How do we know? They tell us.

 

[Spiderman]

Big Brother wants to tax your car mileage


As America’s road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car.

The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center of a controversial attempt in Washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding America’s major roads.

The usually dull arena of highway planning has suddenly spawned intense debate and colorful alliances. Libertarians have joined environmental groups in lobbying to allow government to use the little boxes to keep track of the miles you drive, and possibly where you drive them — then use the information to draw up a tax bill.


I think this is just one more thing to add to all the other things to take our freedoms away.

We pay billions of dollars a year in gas taxes and the morons in gov't can't find money to repair the roads?

Can anyone tell me where all the money from gas taxes is going?

America's Most Obvious Tax Reform Idea: Kill the Oil and Gas Subsidies

Subsidies for oil companies are expensive. Republicans will never let those subsidies end. They would rather cut school lunches for poor children, programs for veterans and help for the elderly. Something everyone knows. How do we know? They tell us.

So you can prove that the earmarked gas tax money is all going to oil companies?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2012/04/25/the-surprising-reason-that-oil-subsidies-persist-even-liberals-love-them/

The single largest expenditure is just over $1 billion for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is designed to protect the U.S. from oil shortages. The second largest category is just under $1 billion in tax exemptions for farm fuel. The justification for that tax exemption is that fuel taxes pay for roads, and the farm equipment that benefits from the tax exemption is technically not supposed to be using the roads. The third largest category? $570 million for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. (This program is classified as a petroleum subsidy because it artificially reduces the price of fuel, which helps oil companies sell more of it). Those three programs account for $2.5 billion a year in “oil subsidies.”

 

[DGS49]

There are some government initiatives that are, simply put, a "black hole" for taxpayer money. "Maintaining our infrastructure" is just such an initiative. If roads and bridges and tunnels are replaced every X years, what would it cost to make it X-1 years? A lot. And if they did that, there would still be people (the dreaded, "advocates") who would tell us that what we really need is to make it X-2 years. And so on. It is a black hole.

When a bridge fails - and it RARELY happens - it is normally the result of some defect in the specifications or malfeasance by the building contractor, not a failure to maintain as required.

Everybody in the whole stream of activity - from the legislators, to the bureaucrats at the Departments of Transportation, to the workers on the roads and the contractors who get the contracts - they ALL have a vested interest in making things look worse than they really are.

The correct philosophy is, spend as little as you can, spend your money wisely, and deal with the real crises as they arise.