Eraser, we have had a power outage for a few days couldnt get on line, how about pro rating for vehicle weight? given modern tech wouldnt be that hard-Kevin
Politics is becoming quite successful at making every issue that we face an “US AGAINST THEM” conflict. Good sense and practical planning be damned as long as my side wins… RIGHT? Or so it appears.
“…every time an uninsured person walks into an ER. We all end up paying for that uninsured person…”
Exactly so. It’s part of the overhead charged to health insurance companies. The list of people that use the ER for primary cars includes both low income, uninsured people as illegal immigrants. And when they finally go the ER, their situation is worse than it would have been if they had access to affordable health care. While counter-intuitive, this actually makes healthcare more expensive. I don’t like paying for anyone else, but I can’t think of an alternative. I’ve read and heard statements from more than one CEO of large medical systems. They all say that the current system is unsustainable and is very much broken.
A lot of farmers in the area where I grew up had gasoline delivered. Much of the gasoline was used their farm equipment for which they didn’t have to pay road tax. However, some was used in their cars and trucks. The farmers I knew noted the amount of fuel that went into their cars and did pay the tax on it.
I suppose that if we go to electric cars, we could have a separate meter for the charger for the electric cars and pay an extra tax on the kilowatt hours used in charging the car batteries. However, I am not certain that the general public would be as honest as the farmers in my community and connect the electric cars to the power meter for the house. Perhaps some signal from the car could be incorporated that would trigger the meter to add on a road tax when the car battery was being recharged. I think that this may be possible.
" Perhaps some signal from the car could be incorporated that would trigger the meter to add on a road tax when the car battery was being recharged. I think that this may be possible."
@Triedaq, I agree. I think that electric cars need a charging station and it would be easy to add a tax in the form of a higher energy charge. For each kWh used, 0.1kWh would be the surcharge for instance. Or there could be a separate meter reading for the car charger that would show tax only. Around here, meter reading is a drive by event anyway. No one in this area has a person read their meter anymore.
Currently much of the money used to build, repair, and maintain roads comes from “gas taxes” which are in effect “user fees”. If you paid for roads from general tax funds low users of roads pay proportionally more than heavy users of roads.
More vehicles are hitting the roads that use less gas (hybrids), and someday a significant number of vehicles using zero gas (electric, or natural gas) means roads are being used with less revenue from gas taxes. The cost to build and maintain roads is the same or higher (inflation) and there is less money to pay for it. What is a governing body to do?
We have similar issues with using property taxes to pay for education. Money to fix the roads has to come from somewhere, the question is if gas taxes aren’t sufficient what else do you tax?
As a people we are great at demanding services; but not keen on paying for them. Good roads are very expensive. I don’t like the idea of a “hybrid tax”. But the money has to come from somewhere, or we have to get used to more and bigger potholes. They are already pretty huge in PA!
As a people we are great at demanding services; but not keen on paying for them.
Let’s have a taxless society. Every road is a toll road and you have to pay to drive on it. You have to pay to have your children educated. If your house catches fire, you go to the fire house and rent the truck and equipment to extinguish the blaze. If you want protection for your house, you or some member of your family stands at post every night with an M-1 to protect your property. Wouldn’t this be great?
When I was growing up, taxes paid for my education. As a professor at a public university, taxes partially paid my salary. Taxes pay for the roads I drive on and for protection on these roads against dangerous drivers.
I want children educated. My own son is on his own, but since I received an education and he received an eduation partially at taxpayers’ expense, I believe it is my responsibility to be certain that the next generation receives an education. I have been blessed with good health for 70 years. It is fine with me that some of my resources go to help those who have not been as fortunate with good health. Even if I give up my car, I still depend on roads for goods to be delivered to the stores and for services to come to my house.
If we change our source of powering cars from gasoline or diesel fuel to compressed natural gas, electrical energy, atomic energy, or even a big spring that the car owner hand winds every day to power his/her car, we still have to have funds to pay people to maintain the roads. I think now is the time to begin planning for this.
“or some member of your family stands at post every night with an M-1 to protect your property.”
Yesterday’s tomatoes. I want a personal defense weapon, like a Heckler & Koch MP7. I would compliment it with a Heckler & Koch UCP pistol. I will save money by using the same ammo. For Big Problems a USAS-12 assault shotgun will handle the crowd.
Or, like you Triedaq, I could just depend on the police and a strong society as I do now, and prefer to do.
I also agree that a strong society looks out for its less able members. Without this, our society becomes weaker as members decide to create their won society and make ours a target to attack for their gain. I’m not advocating coddling criminals, but we can drive decent people to do strange things by ignoring them. Interim relief and long-term help to grow self sufficient is important. I’m not sure exactly how to implement it, but I know it works. When my father died in 1967 I got $2000 a year from his civil service benefits to got to college, as did my sister. Her schooling was completely paid for and mine was half paid with the stipend. We have paid it back countless times in taxes with our enhanced earning power.