Re: People Without Meaningful Lives Seek Power Over Others

On 1/23/2025 2:38 PM, AMuzi wrote:

On 1/23/2025 12:10 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

On 1/23/2025 6:23 AM, zen cycle wrote:

On 1/22/2025 10:03 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

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In fact, I think if we could do so, road taxes should all be on such a per-mile-driven system, maybe modified additionally for the weight of the vehicle.

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Texas tried it
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https://www.dallasnews.com/news/investigations/2024/10/23/ a-look-at- texas-private-toll-roads/
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at least in one case, it didn't go so well:
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https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-tollway-288-steep-price/
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"Since the tollway opened in November 2020, toll rates have increased by more than 160 percent, going from $11 for the full 20-mile round trip during peak hours to $29 dollars now. "

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That looks like an astonishingly bad agreement between the government and BTG corporation. But note that BTG paid only a third of the cost of construction, so even that "private" toll road was heavily subsidized by taxpayers. I'm pointing this out to those who say rail transport should cover all its expenses via fares, with zero subsidies.
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To try for a broader overview of road taxes: There are people who never drive, and people who drive far more than others. Since the vast majority of road-related expenses are _not_ covered by gasoline taxes, why should a non-driver pay the same road taxes as a mega-driver?
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Why not tie those taxes the amount of roadway used by each driver, since that (as well as vehicle weight) is a main determinant of roadway expenses? After all, train fares are strongly affected by the the rider's travel distance - IOW the amount of track used.
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To allay the fears of the paranoid: The government wouldn't need to track your movements. You'd simply need to submit evidence of your odometer total once per year.
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Seems to me the crew that says "Let the market decide" should be all in favor of this idea.
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And please note, I'm not making this argument for my own benefit. Quite the opposite! As I've said, my life situation has changed in a way that makes me driver far more annual miles than I ever did before, and I'm doing it in an EV. I'm pretty sure I'm paying less than "my share" of roadway expenses.
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 Many (I included) would sharply resist such government motoring of my auto use. That's a political barrier, not a technical issue.

Of course you, and many others, would dislike such a scheme! So yes, like many things, it's a political issue. Everybody wants better services but they don't want to pay for them. (Our classic example here is better law enforcement and more prisons, magically paid for by "No new taxes!")

Also, people who do not own or use motor vehicles still consume myriad products all of which are transported by motor freight (even air & rail have 'last mile' truck delivery). They pay road tax with every purchase, plus a markup.

Of course. And they'd still pay that way, through normal sales tax and purchase price, as they do now. But in principle, their total tax burden should be less, since those who made private use of the roads would be paying a bit closer to their fair share.
It seems downright socialistic to charge non-drivers the same as drivers for roads whose potholes and other wear the non-drivers never generate.
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- Frank Krygowski