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I wouldn't say "suckers" too soon. This very same plan could easily be in the works from The Obama Abomination. You mark my words: They're watching this and drooling.

The Eurotopians go for this crap only because most of their countries could fit in the Mall of America parking lot. You want to tell somebody in Montana with a Ford F-150 they have to give the Gubmint $60 every time they have to drive into Billings for some feed? Good luck with that.

The last time the Dutch had a money-making idea, it was to invent the slave trade. Naturally, they'd be the ones to come up with a scheme like this.

You can bet your bottom dollar that some ultra liberal tax and spend demacreep will prepose such a stupid idea here knowing how rediculous they are especialy if its a jerk like AL GORE

This idea has been batted around in the US for more than 5 years now. Liberals love all things Euro-peon, so look for this idea from Chairman Zero and his thugs any day now.

The euroweenie union stikes again

The Left keeps on coming up with more and more rationales to destroy free civil society.

On the bright side this would create millions of jobs in the government run license departments of Amerika. You will just pay a tax when you get your plate, depending on what type of vehicle you drive and estimated mileage. If you don't pay the tax, no plate, just like auto insurance, and soon to be health insurance. Mexico is looking more and more like Galts Gulch every day.

This insidious disease has already arrived in the US. Insurance companies are offering pay by the mile insurance, using the GPS to keep people honest and raise the rates of speeders and aggressive drivers.

But hey, that's fine. If people want to give up their privacy for cheaper insurance, that is their choice.

Unfortunately, government has a long track record of metastasizing using safety as the excuse.

Look for this voluntary program to become a little less voluntary as time goes on, before it eventually becomes required in the name of the polar bears.

Posted by: Anonymous Countermoonbat at November 14, 2009 12:20 PM

Sure, it's OK as a choice to lose your privacy, in order to (presumably) save money. You choose, you lose.

It's when it becomes a mode of taxation levied by the Gub'mint that it's intolerable.

If you run the numbers, you will see that 7c/mile is astoundingly expensive. That raises the annual cost of a 12,000 mile/year driver by $840.

It also ignores the fact that a big reason we have such bad congestion on our roads is government stopped using gas and automobile taxes on roads and started using them to pay for bus and rail systems. Bus and rail systems, among other problems, have such low capacities that they can't possibly do anything about congestion.

Oh, two other things.

One, if mileage is what you're going to tax, why not go with the least intrusive version, annual odometer inspection? They're a lot harder to fake these days. That they're going with the most intrusive, expensive, and privacy-destroying option, GPS, makes me think this isn't really about miles driven.

Two, don't forget that Oregon and California are talking about actually implementing this terrible idea.

I realize driving is a privelege and not a right but I'm just sick of this kind of crap. It's the big money grab again. What the hell do they do with it. Time to sharpen the pitchforks and storm the castle. Remember this in 2010. I have been donating $10 to every candidate worthy of it for some time now. I sent to Tarkanian who is running against Reed. I sent to Wilson after the "You lie!" incident and I will continue to support the ones that are doing my bidding. Because that's why they are there, not to protect me from myself. Think about that.

I usually agree with what i see on this site but I think you guys are wrong on this one... The problem with the gas tax and the suggestion by Bob Smith of using odometer inspection is that it doesn't take into account peak period usage. The fact is that there is only so much road space available and we have to come up with some means of "rationing" it if we want to avoid gridlock and the economic costs that result. By charging for use of roads, in particular during peak periods, those who don't absolutely have to drive during peak periods will now have a direct financial incentive to make other arrangements such as transit or driving during off peak periods, thus freeing up space for those who must. On the other hand, it could certainly be abused and manipulated into a political football and tax grab but as long as it is only a replacement of existing taxes (such as the gas tax) and not a new tax, then theoretically it is a good idea.

I don't believe any of these proposals eliminate a significant tax, like the gas tax, and even if they did, one cannot trust politicians not to reintroduce the eliminated tax later.

Tolling systems solve the peak usage issue. The problem is that whackjob leftists then start complaining that people with money can afford to pay the peak tolls and therefore tolling is discriminatory. The truth is that leftists don't want cars at all, and tolling & GPS tracking systems are there to make driving as costly and annoying as possible, not save the environment or reduce congestion. That's why peak tolls are never high enough to actually make the tolled road freeflowing. In fact leftists desire congestion, just ask the city of Portland.

Bob Smith,

I completely agree with you. the leftists are out to kill the private automobile and they cloak their true intentions in the guise of environmentalism. I also take your point that once the tax is in place it will likely be manipulated to serve the interests of the leftists.

But as a daily commuter who is fed up with congestion, I would have no problem at all if some form of road pricing were introduced because time is money and if I can cut down my travel time by 30 minutes per day it would be worth spending a little extra money, if it could be done in such a way as to avoid the risks you mentioned.