No More Sunday Drivers

Due to people combating high prices at the pump with more fuel efficient and electric cars, one state senator has come up with yet another way to dip into the wallets and purses of the daily driver.

Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, has introduced a bill based on the vehicles miles traveled (VMT), which aims to close the gap on shrinking revenues from the state's gasoline tax. A program which is modeled after ones in Oregon and Washington.

Oregon currently charges 1.5 cents per mile with its tax. Based on the average of 14,000 miles a year, that would mean n additional $210 per year. But if you realistically drive 35 miles one way on your commute, expect to pay close to $275 more per year. That of course, is per vehicle that you own.

What would this mean to the local 18-wheel driver that drives 1,000 miles a day? They would go register their vehicle in Nevada or Arizona because the tax would hit them the hardest, as it would also mean we the people get to pay more at the store for consumables and this would be the only way for them to avoid such a tax.

Just as with the utility companies urging everyone to conserve energy in order to keep from building more power plants, they increase rates as consumption decreases for the average household. Yet with the increase in population and consumer size, the grid is stretched as far as it can go.

Will a VMT cause more people to take public transportation? Perhaps. If it were to have such a result, would fares also increase exponentially according to the increase in riders? Probably.

Bottom line, we the people are going to have to pay for it one way or another in the end. While our elected officials give away yet more tax breaks to the same companies which move jobs out of California or off-shore and make more profits than ever. More recently, over $300 billion for research in tax breaks just this last April.

Are we tired of being Peter when Paul should be paying a fair share of taxes?