Pete Buttigieg floats ‘vehicle miles’ tax
The idea of taxing people for how many miles they drive in a year is something that has been floated before and now Pete Buttigieg, the new Transportation Secretary, seems to be behind the idea. Here is more:
“When you think about infrastructure, it’s a classic example of the kind of investment that has a return on that investment,” the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor said.
“That’s one of many reasons why we think this is so important. This is a jobs vision as much as it is an infrastructure vision, a climate vision and more.”
Stop right there! The idea behind the miles driven tax is supposed to be to raise money for infrastructure but as you can see in that last quote this is really just another attempt at forcing part of the green new deal onto an unsuspecting populace. Okay, back to Pete Buttigieg:
A vehicle miles tax would cost drivers based on how far they drive, not how much gasoline is consumed.
“A so-called vehicle-miles-traveled tax or mileage tax, whatever you want to call it, could be a way to do it,” he said of the possibility of generating revenue to pay for the impending spending proposals.
It is not clear whether a vehicle miles tax would replace the federal gas tax or be in addition to it.
A mileage tax “shows a lot of promise if we believe in that so-called user-pays principle: The idea that part of how we pay for roads is you pay based on how much you drive.”
Two things about that last quote stick out to me. First; I think we all know that this will be in addition to the gas tax, there is no way the Democrats are going to repeal and replace. Second; in theory the gas tax already taxes a person based on how much they drive. The more a person drives the more he pays in taxes, that is pretty simple is it not?
In addition to the bureaucratic nightmare this will create and the unfair burden this will put on the lower income people who have to travel long distances to work there is the broken promise of not raising taxes on people making under $400,000…
America's Watchtower 
The basic concept is wrong on several levels.
The first issue is that it’s a regressive tax, like a sales tax, it disproportionately impacts the lower and middle classes, taking a larger percentage of their income. A new Cadillac Escalade pays the same as a used KIA.
The next issue is where did the money go that formerly paid for the work?
California is an excellent example of where the money went. We have a highway fuel tax. In that it’s a variety of sales tax, it is regressive, but it gets mitigated somewhat by your choice of vehicle; the driver of a Cadillac Escalade pays a lot more than the driver of an economy car. Regardless, it kept our roads and highways in good shape. The more they were used, the more money was generated for construction and upkeep.
Then, our politicians couldn’t balance the state budget one year and transferred the fuel tax from the highway funds to the state general fund. Some money was returned from the general fund to the highway funds, but not much. Our roads and highways have been getting worse ever since.
I should also mention that recently, our state government added more taxes to pay for the roads (the roads are still crappy). Restoring the fuel taxes to the highway fund wasn’t even considered.
You can see the effect for yourself. Go to Google Maps and look up Pahrump, NV. It’s very close to the California/Nevada state line.
Traveling West out of Pahrump, Nevada Hwy 372 changes to CA 178. When you’re returning from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, it’s a lot more interesting drive than taking the main road, Hwy 15. Switch to Google Street View and look at the road where it crosses the state line. The Nevada side is smooth and the California side is cracked and patched. When you’re driving West, it’s much worse than it appears on Google. The transition from smooth to rough gets your attention immediately.
That’s my two, how many more things make this a bad idea?
P.S. Not far from the border, CA 178 is a 10 mile straightaway running South across a flat valley floor. It’s a good place to find out how fast your car really is. It’s occasionally used for speed trials, sanctioned and otherwise.
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Thanks for all of that! I have to remember the term “regressive tax” for issues like this, for people who supposedly care so much for the downtrodden this type of tax proves otherwise.
They have squandered the gas tax and have not used it as intended and yet we are supposed to believe they will not do the same with an additional tax?! How about they fix the problem with the gas tax and use it as intended before putting another burden on us?
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Pete “Butt” Buttigeig should do what he’s good at such as riding the Hershey highway and stay off the paved roads.
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🙂
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These legislators do nothing for the good of the people or country. Rather than overtax the public as usual, these legislators need to really WORK FOR the people and have their salaries, pensions, benefits, etc. pay for the infrastructure instead. :-0 I’m tired of giving them a free pass to overtax and overpower us.
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I agree! They should look in the mirror first and start there. There is nothing they do for our good, it all has to do with enriching themselves and staying in power.
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Politicians will tax anything they can. They taxed the rain and sunlight. Our founding fathers neglected to restrict the ability of the government to tax. Its time to burn the whole thing down and start anew. But first we must purge the progressives and send them to countries where social justice exists. The same for all blacks and other minorities who claim systematic racism exists. South Africa, Cuba, Iran are all excellent destinations for these wonderful people. For white elites I suggest Russia and Germany. For our Jewish brethren, who are jews in name only, the 9th ring of hell. All Antifa and BLM Zimbabwe.
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