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lol, that doesn't really solve the very real problem of dependence on oil for transportation.
it seems like the people who have decided oil is the enemy will probably decide to force people into other more fuel efficient cars/choices by pricing them out of oil options.
An interesting issue, indeed, NJGOAT. Thanks for creating this thread.
I imagine some way of tracking mileage and/or KW/hr charging of electric cars will probably be developed.
Another alternative would be to place a heavy taxation on tire purchases ... After all, it's the rubber that meets, and places wear on the roadways - and tires are already rated for their estimated mileage/life. Consider that autos using all forms of fuel still require tires.
On a federal level, maybe one day (hey, I can dream, can't I?) we can stop blowing up and then rebuilding infrastructure in other countries (over and over and over again), and put that same funding to good use right here at home. I imagine Haliburton might even be able to keep their lucrative no-bid contracts, and could gear up to do more work locally, which could even decrease unemployment. And this scenario would not cost us American taxpayers an extra dime.
Another alternative would be to place a heavy taxation on tire purchases ... After all, it's the rubber that meets, and places wear on the roadways - and tires are already rated for their estimated mileage/life. Consider that autos using all forms of fuel still require tires.
Cute Ann ... LOL! Yeah, even now, I've often felt that the road repair crews have a lot of stock in tire companies, and many of them sideline at Midas doing alignments
The gas tax already is a per mile tax and weight tax in a way (further you drive and heavier your car, the more gas the car uses).
exactly. many states also charge different registration fees based on the weight of the car (or "class" of the car). many states make this distinction.
tolls usually are charged based on how many axels a vehicle has.
The gas tax currently is actually a rather fair method of assessing "use". The issue comes when you try to replace it with something else. I think the per mile idea is rather interesting and you could easily come up with an "impact" rate for each vehicle class and tax accordingly. The issue with that system is, how many people are going to willingly submit to a meter placed in their car to calculate the usage? You could get around that by forcing annual inspections where the mileage can be recorded, but it's a mess no matter how you dice it.
I think this is a rather interesting problem. Most people are incredibly opposed to raising any taxes let alone fuel taxes, but it is rather obvious that our current efforts to improve efficiency (which I think is a good thing) are eroding the means that we use to support our infrastructure projects at a national and state level.
Raising the tax is the obvious solution, but that seems like it is almost political suicide to even suggest at this point. Regardless of what happens with gas taxes, some solution needs to be created to account for electric vehicles. I would think the most obvious choices there are to:
a. Force them to report mileage and charge accordingly.
or
b. Find a way so that they are charged a road use tax that is billed through a dedicated meter that they use to charge the car. Basically a per KwH tax.
I think this debate is important as it has very near term implications. Within 9 years CAFE standards will be set at 35MPG. Within 5 years of that (2025), the national average will be close to achieving that mileage. At the same time, there is a strong push to get 1+ million electric cars on the road by 2025.
This is an issue that will weigh heavily in the next 5-15 years, not something that we are talking about as an issue 50 years from now that we all think we can ignore and not have to deal with.
this concept of "pay per mile of use" was floated around in Texas a number of years ago, but regarding car insurance. people did not like it because many people would obviously have to pay more, since tons of folks like getting away with lieing about how they use their vehicles when they get insurance. i'm pretty sure it was proposed by a republican state rep. so it's not even a politics thing. people just are not too keen on the idea of very specific information being available.
i'm perfectly fine with it because i'd save a fortune on insurance!
...and that is just the tip of the iceberg. In a country/state that has no real means of efficient public transit, vehicle owners without the means to buy newer cars will be left bearing a greater burden of the increased taxes.
Car's today have a CAFE combined standard of 25MPG. Chances are these are the vehicles most poorer folks will be driving in the next 10 years. Those with the means will upgrade to more efficient vehicles (the required efficiency and safety standard increases by 2025 are expected to add up to $3,000 to the cost of a vehicle in today's dollars) and the burden will not be as great. However, poorer people who need to rely on a car to get to work (there is no other option for the majority) will be driving older, less efficient cars and getting socked with the cost of doing so.
lol, that doesn't really solve the very real problem of dependence on oil for transportation.
Interestingly enough, one proposal at the Fed level is to introduce a reverse gas guzzler tax that would charge people more for buying a highly efficient vehicle similar to if they bought a very inefficient vehicle.
Overall, these kinds of issues are directly related to America's complete lack of a realistic, progressive (ewwww, dirty word, lol) national energy policy.
oh no. you used the P word! i could not agree more.
lol, another more direct issue is while people have to buy gas in order to drive, people might be willing to avoid buying tires even if they need them in order to avoid the cost. The average passenger car tire costs, let's say $120 and is rated to last 50k miles. On average .13 cents of every dollar you spend on gas is tax, so at $4 a gallon, ~.52 cents of every gallon is tax. If the average car gets 35MPG, you would need to charge about $750 per tire in tax to recoup the lost gas tax revenue at current levels. That would mean buying 4 tires would now cost $3,480, all in one lump sum.
Not to mention that different states have different tax rates on fuel. There would be lines of PA drivers at NJ tire shops, lol.
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