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What about taxpayer funded roads?
Those bike lanes must be a pet peeve of yours.
Money collected from vehicle registrations are not currently ring-fenced for road construction.
The primary source of funding of roads is fuel taxes and vehicle licencing and registration, not "general" taxes. In addition, everyone uses roads (Want to get food? Buy a product shipped over a public road? Ride a bus on a public street?). Bike lanes are used for a tiny percentage of the population to play with their toys. Like drivers, they should pay their own way. Only fair, right? Fuel tax should not pay for bike trails or sidewalks.
The primary source of funding of roads is fuel taxes and vehicle licencing and registration, not "general" taxes. In addition, everyone uses roads (Want to get food? Buy a product shipped over a public road? Ride a bus on a public street?). Bike lanes are used for a tiny percentage of the population to play with their toys. Like drivers, they should pay their own way. Only fair, right? Fuel tax should not pay for bike trails or sidewalks.
I think bike users are already paying.
Vast majority of them use cars too.
What about pedestrians, should we levy a tax for the construction and maintenance of side walks and cross walks?
The primary source of funding of roads is fuel taxes and vehicle licencing and registration, not "general" taxes. .
False
Gasoline Taxes and Tolls Pay for Only a Third of State & Local Road Spending
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The lion’s share of transportation funding should come from user taxes and fees, such as tolls, gasoline taxes, and other user-related charges. When road funding comes from a mix of tolls and gas taxes, the people that use the roads benefit from them and should bear a sizeable portion of the cost. By contrast, funding transportation out of general revenue makes roads “free,” and consequently, overused or congested—often the precise problem transportation spending programs are meant to solve.
highway user taxes and fees made up just 32 percent of state and local expenses on roads. The rest was financed out of general revenues, including federal aid.
I'm guessing the schools have both internet and computers. They can go in early or stay late. They can also go to the library.
Exactly.
Mind you, I'm all for people having internet access at home, but after this last election, I have realized that more and more of them are not using it to better themselves at all.
So, why subsidize it?
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I support this idea just as most support Rural Free Delivery Postal Service, Rural Electrification, TVA and BPA, State and Federal Road systems and many others. I support these because it makes economic sense for the entire country and not just the recipients of the programs. We all do better with these organizations than without.
I'm not sure you can lump internet in there with electricity and postal service. People need the latter two, but not the former.
It's nice to have, to be sure, but not at all a necessity for people who work jobs that don't require internet.
The people that do work such jobs can still get internet through various means, even if they have to resort to plans through cellular carriers.
It's not like there's nothing out there.
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I'm not sure you can lump internet in there with electricity and postal service. People need the latter two, but not the former.
It's nice to have, to be sure, but not at all a necessity for people who work jobs that don't require internet.
The people that do work such jobs can still get internet through various means, even if they have to resort to plans through cellular carriers.
It's not like there's nothing out there.
Actually today you do need internet. How many times have you read here about shopping or whatever being so much easier now?
But there's one aspect you are all missing, school. Textbook publishers are more and more putting their product on websites. They are selling that to school systems as being a cheaper alternative than buying a physical textbook (anywhere from 50% to 75% cheaper).
And schools are taking the bait.
Now someone will mention libraries. They don't have enough computers to service an entire school in the evening. Many schools don't have a computer for each kid.
There are intrafamily issues that play into textbooks on the net but they aren't germaine to this particular discussion.
What about taxpayer funded roads?
Those bike lanes must be a pet peeve of yours.
Money collected from vehicle registrations are not currently ring-fenced for road construction.
The taxes and fees that I pay to drive include the following:
Fuel tax that is now at about 70 cents a gallon, part of this is used to fund mass transit both federally and state level.
Sales tax on the vehicle that if sold three times can rival the fuel tax.
Registration fee.
License fee.
Title transfer fee.
Then there is the incidental fees/costs:
If I get a ticket for $25 there is $100 in fees used for things I would only be partly responsible for such as EMT's.
When in Philly if I park my car, get a ticket or have my car towed half of the costs for that are equally split between the city and the school district.
The trucking industry pays no where near what they should to cover the costs of damage they do to roads so when the non motorist buys something in the store I have subsidized that purchase.
Electric vehicles do not pay fuel tax, the damage they do to the road is subsidized by me.
We're not done yet...
Taxes paid by by auto and part manufacturers, oil companies and on down to the local mechanic and their employees is a massive revenue stream.
Other than a fare that doesn't cover the costs and a $9 hamburger that cost Amtrak $16 to make what does the Amtrak rider pay?
New Report Finds Drivers Pay Less Than Half the Cost of Roads (2015)
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The new report, “Who Pays for Roads? How the ‘Users Pays’ Myth Gets in the Way of Solutions to America’s Transportation Problems” exposes the widening gap between how Americans think we pay for transportation – through gas taxes and other fees – and how we actually do.
The new report pulls back the veil on the “users pay” myth, finding that:
· Gas taxes and other fees paid by drivers now cover less than half of road construction and maintenance costs nationally – down from more than 70 percent in the 1960s – with the balance coming chiefly from income, sales and property taxes and other levies on general taxpayers.
· General taxpayers at all levels of government now subsidize highway construction and maintenance to the tune of $69 billion per year – an amount exceeding the expenditure of general tax funds to support transit, bicycling, walking and passenger rail combined.
· Regardless of how much they drive, the average American household bears an annual financial burden of more than $1,100 in taxes and indirect costs from driving – over and above any gas taxes or other fees they pay that are connected with driving.
I think bike users are already paying.
Vast majority of them use cars too.
That is as lame as suggesting a bike tax funding roads would be fair because I drive a bike occasionally.
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What about pedestrians, should we levy a tax for the construction and maintenance of side walks and cross walks?
Obviously these things need to be funded, my point would be quit looking a gift horse in the mouth.
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