Does proposed 'mileage tax' have hidden agenda?
Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow
A government-spending watchdog says a recently discussed plan for raising tax revenue for America's roads should scare anyone who drives a car.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently stated that he would be willing to implement a plan that will tax motorists on the amount of miles driven. Massachusetts lawmakers have considered such a plan, and pilot programs have been implemented in the Northwest United States.
In order to track the mileage, cars will have to be fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) units. This has prompted fear of a "big brother state," and some critics are calling it Orwellian intrusion. David Williams, vice-president of policy with Citizens Against Government Waste, has similar concerns.
"[I]t looks like this could be a camel's nose under the tent," Williams offers. "You know, this is the first step -- you put a GPS unit in every car to, quote, 'track mileage.' Well, what else is it going to track? And what else are they going to monitor?"
Yet it is consistent with what he sees government desiring these days. "...[I]t gets with the government's obsession with two things: knowing everything about us, and collecting money from us," he says.
Read the rest of the article here.
Mili-Lib Note: This tax, were it implemented, would not just track our every move in our vehicles, but would put an undue burden upon the rural livers among us (including farmers) who, because of where and how we live, are required to drive further than others. It's over 80 miles round trip from my house to the nearest city, for instance.
The other question is this: if they want to tax miles driven, why not tax tires instead of tracking vehicles? It's just as accurate and much less invasive. If I drive more, I have to buy new tires more often. Right? There ya go. Doesn't take nearly the infrastructure to implement either.
Of course, that's beside the point. Government doesn't like to do anything that isn't as big and complicated as possible. Especially when it comes to screwing the Constitution over.
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A government-spending watchdog says a recently discussed plan for raising tax revenue for America's roads should scare anyone who drives a car.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently stated that he would be willing to implement a plan that will tax motorists on the amount of miles driven. Massachusetts lawmakers have considered such a plan, and pilot programs have been implemented in the Northwest United States.
In order to track the mileage, cars will have to be fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) units. This has prompted fear of a "big brother state," and some critics are calling it Orwellian intrusion. David Williams, vice-president of policy with Citizens Against Government Waste, has similar concerns.
"[I]t looks like this could be a camel's nose under the tent," Williams offers. "You know, this is the first step -- you put a GPS unit in every car to, quote, 'track mileage.' Well, what else is it going to track? And what else are they going to monitor?"
Yet it is consistent with what he sees government desiring these days. "...[I]t gets with the government's obsession with two things: knowing everything about us, and collecting money from us," he says.
Read the rest of the article here.
Mili-Lib Note: This tax, were it implemented, would not just track our every move in our vehicles, but would put an undue burden upon the rural livers among us (including farmers) who, because of where and how we live, are required to drive further than others. It's over 80 miles round trip from my house to the nearest city, for instance.
The other question is this: if they want to tax miles driven, why not tax tires instead of tracking vehicles? It's just as accurate and much less invasive. If I drive more, I have to buy new tires more often. Right? There ya go. Doesn't take nearly the infrastructure to implement either.
Of course, that's beside the point. Government doesn't like to do anything that isn't as big and complicated as possible. Especially when it comes to screwing the Constitution over.
-----
Got comments? Email me, dammit!
Permanent link for this article which can be used on any website:
posted by Aaron Turpen @ 7:12 AM
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