Would you raise gas tax or legalize statewide commercial gambling? (Peoria: car registration, casinos)

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by PhoenixSomeday

Echoing the legalizing of weed. I don't use it myself, nor do I ever plan to, but it's so benign compared to alcohol (which is somehow legal, despite the drastically worse effects and higher / more serious danger) and would be a good revenue source. Plus the plant apparently has a lot of other uses.

Increase in gas tax may not be as fruitful as they think in the coming decades. Fully electric vehicles are going to become more and more commonplace as the tech gets better and better. It'll eventually reach a point where there are more EVs than ICEs (internal combustion engines).

Which means that...



...I need to know more about this. I do want to go electric in the future, although I don't see it happening with my budget inside of 5-10 years if prices and high demand vs short supply continue as they are. But I'd still like to keep track of every aspect EV progress and what affects them.

EDIT: Looked up the bill, assuming it's House Bill 2536? Also assuming that the site I found accurately represents the text of the bill:

For 100% EV (Tesla, Leaf, etc)
First year: $130
Second year: $175
Third year: $198
Each year after that, adjusts (so, could go down?) in relation to the US GDP? (it says US Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price Deflator).

For Hybrids:
First year: $52
Second year: $70
Third year: $80
Each year after that, adjusts (so, could go down?) in relation to the US GDP? (it says US Gross Domestic Product Implicit Price Deflator).


Honestly though, that third year EV fee is only about 4 tanks of gas for me, which is about 5-6 weeks worth, so it's a lot lower than gas for a whole year. Although, I don't know how much it costs to charge such a car for the same number of miles driven.

How do you know pot is benign? Some studies say it increases rate of psychosis.

[tijlover]

I'd vote for the gas tax. Just moved here from Las Vegas and I'm actually shocked at how cheap gas is here.

As for gambling, in Las Vegas it's estimated that only 1 out of 4 come to Las Vegas to gamble. The gambling Baby Boom generation is dying off and millennials want nothing to do with gambling. It's a dying industry!

[DougStark]

re: gas tax. All I know is that they need to widen, improve and make safer the I-10 freeway from Phoenix-Tucson. It's shameful that this stretch has been only two lanes in each direction. Dangerous.

[PhoenixSomeday]

Originally Posted by DougStark

How do you know pot is benign? Some studies say it increases rate of psychosis.

I'm not talking about long-term usage. Yes, there can be effects. I remember seeing side by side pictures of a brain from someone with long term heavy pot usage vs someone who didn't (brain study course in college). Not good.

What I was referring to more was the per-use effects. With alcohol it's a crap shoot. Some get really happy and huggy, some get violent and dangerous, others just become useless. Wide range of effects, and they are often dangerous (drunk driving, violence, etc). Whereas with pot, every single person I've personally known and seen who gets high, just sits around giggling and getting the munchies (it also frequently unites people across social groups like nothing else I've seen, most especially unlike alcohol). That's what I mean by benign. It's pretty consistent too. But, for whatever insane reason, people love their alcohol (see prohibition) but clutch their pearls at weed.

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by DougStark

re: gas tax. All I know is that they need to widen, improve and make safer the I-10 freeway from Phoenix-Tucson. It's shameful that this stretch has been only two lanes in each direction. Dangerous.

Just hope they don't add a toll lane on I-10 like they did with I-25 between Castle Rock and Monument.

[BigEinAz]

Gambling has too many secondary and tertiary societal costs. All totaled this would be a much higher cost than benefit. Why shouldn’t road users pay for road maintenance?

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

The "rather good" casinos certainly haven't made life on the reservations any better. Within a few miles of the casinos, hotels, and shopping centers are dilapidated shacks, and conditions reminiscent of a third world nation. Legalize statewide gambling and the revenue would go to the state, not the tribes, which is what I would prefer.



Agreed! Arizona would do well to be more like Nevada: legalize gambling, marijuana, and prostitution. Use the revenue for roads & public safety. Also, get rid of the state income tax.

The Indian casinos in California have definitely improved life on the reservations.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by BigEinAz

Gambling has too many secondary and tertiary societal costs. All totaled this would be a much higher cost than benefit. Why shouldn’t road users pay for road maintenance?

People hate taxes (of any kind)... that's your first problem.

[PhoenixSomeday]

Originally Posted by man4857

People hate taxes (of any kind)... that's your first problem.

It might be less of a gripe if money didn't kept getting stolen from one fund to pay for another, totally unrelated project. Having to write specific language into a bill that "the money in this fund cannot be used for anything else" is asinine. That should be the bare minimum standard.

[Adamson865]

Originally Posted by BigEinAz

Gambling has too many secondary and tertiary societal costs. All totaled this would be a much higher cost than benefit. Why shouldn’t road users pay for road maintenance?

That's the whole point behind toll roads, which I'm totally in favor of.