I agree they don't need to know where we are going. Should be strictly a mileage counter, IMO. I think if it was not looked at as a tax, but as the cost of driving, maybe people would react differently, but because the word tax is included, it's a bad thing. We fund state and national parks, yet still, have to pay to camp there. So those that use them MORE pay more. You could just call it a camping "tax" I suppose.
And of course, the government will give a free pass to the worthless fuckers who live off welfare or illegal immigrants.
What's that got to do with the topic at hand? A gas or mileage tax is regressive, not progressive. In no way is it a tax on the rich. barfo
I think they should tax bicyclists, especially in Portland. This city has spent millions building bike lanes and accommodating the bike crowd, but has collected no taxes or funding for those expenses. I don't see why they can't sell a permit to use the roads and bike lanes. I have a kayak and if I want to be able to kayak in and around Portland, I have to pay $15 for a permit. I don't see any reason why that couldn't work for bikes too.
It's not a strawman at all. You objected to taxing the rich. I pointed out that a mileage tax isn't a tax on the rich. You asked if it applied to bus riders. What was the point of that question if not to imply that the tax fell unfairly on the car drivers? barfo
I teleport everywhere. I am against the installation of tracking devices on my person. It's not that I object to the privacy invasion. It's that I have an iPhone and I am against redundancy.
Yeah, instead of government getting into the people-tracking business, I'd much rather they contracted it out to established private sector businesses who already track people, like Google.
I would assume they would, or at least, I think it should. If buses were going to be also taxed per mile, and so Tri-Met saw its cost of operation increase, than undoubtedly, it would pass along that fee to its riders. Same way they raise prices when gas prices go up(yet those fuckers never drop them when gas prices go down). But yeah, your car=rich, bus=poor is amusing.
I agree, was going to say that earlier. And I try to bike as much as I could. Still, seems only fair. I dunno how you put it into place. An additional tax on the purchase of a bike? Registering bikes like cars, and requiring a license plate, of sorts.
I'm sure you already know this and are just doing your typical shtick, but... There is a difference between: a) rich = people who drive cars and b) the average bus rider income is lower I actually don't know if (b) is true, but in my experience it seems like it might be.
Will these new taxes be offset by lower taxes elsewhere? Me thinks not. Remember, everyone else needs to make a sacrifice in tough economic times but the Government.
