Governments frequently impose perverse policy incentives. We’ve been hectored for years to stop smoking, yet governments depend on tobacco taxes to fund current operations. When tobacco sales go down, governments must make up the revenue. Of course, it would never occur to any bureaucrat to declare himself redundant and save the taxpayers some coin. Watch closely as the food-nazis try to make obesity the new smoking. It’s a sure-fire revenue opportunity for cash-strapped state governments. Maine’s recent attempt to tax soft drinks and the raw materials used to make them is but one example. Thankfully, the people of Maine in November repealed the new taxes by ‘peoples veto’.
And speaking of revenue opportunities, we just had to know something like this was coming. From the Albany (Oregon) Democrat Herald:
A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.
Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.
As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”
What that means is explained on the governor’s website:
“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.
The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
The online outline adds: “The governor is committed to ensuring that rural Oregon is not adversely affected and that privacy concerns are addressed.”
What’s at stake are the unintended consequences of fuel-efficiency and reduced driving. And rather than simply raise the gas tax or fund transportation out of general funds, the good governor’s willing to implement intrusive technology to extract the last farthing from Oregon’s citizens. While state officials have assured the citizenry that privacy is not a concern, I for one have scant faith in bureaucratic morality.
Just ask Joe the Plumber about privacy.
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