Posted on 04/19/2011 12:36:15 PM PDT by La Lydia
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- The Minnesota Department of Transportation is looking for 500 people to test technology that could someday be used to collect a mileage-based user fee. Mn/DOT anticipates a fee on road usage might someday be necessary as more fuel efficient and hybrid cars are on the road, decreasing revenue from the gas tax.
"This research will provide important feedback from motorists about the effectiveness of using technology in a car or truck to gather mileage information," said Cory Johnson, project manager. "We are researching alternative financing methods today that could be used 10 or 20 years from now when the number of fuel efficient and hybrid cars increase and no longer produce enough revenue from a gas tax to build and repair roads."
Recruiting for the Minnesota Road Fee Test will begin in May, with research starting in July. Volunteers must be from Hennepin or Wright County. Drivers will be given smart phones with a GPS application that has been programmed to allow them to submit information. Volunteers will get a small stipend for expenses associated with the test. The research is scheduled to end by December 2012.
The state of Oregon completed a similar study in November 2007. Iowa, Nevada and Texas are currently researching mileage-based user fees.
Mn/DOT says that if a mileage-based user fee were implemented, motorists would pay a fee based on how many miles they driver, rather than how much gas a vehicle uses, which is how Minnesota's gas tax is currently designed....
Sounds like a tax.
If that's the problem they're trying to solve, there are less intrusive ways to accomplish it. (I conclude they are lying about the purpose.)
Sadly they’ll wind up w/ well more than 500 drooling imbeciles demand more govt oversight of their lives....and yours.
Good God.
as a native son,, what the hell happened to MInniesoda..
Our forefathers would be shooting by now.
I foresee a lot of problems with this, not the least of which is that there is a good chance that they will keep both types of taxes (remember the Federal Government gets a good portion of the tax on fuel).
Next, currently the tax is collected at the point of sell, the mechancism is already in place. It is difficult to cheat.
However, how are they going to figure out the miles driven? Attach a GPS device to your car? Talk about big brother.
Then there will be the forms to fill out, and then a department to process the forms, more unionized government employees.
The bottom line in all this is that governments want more money. It does not matter how much money they get, they always want more and they keep finding ways to get it.
This is an impossible situation and it can not continue forever. The American people are waking up but instead of addressing the concerns of the people, this administration along with their friends in the media are demonizing those that what to get spending under control.
This use to work. However, the American taxpayers are being pushed into a corner. Like any animal pushed into a corner with no way out, they become unpredictable,
I don’t think this is going to turn out well for those that believe in unlimited government and unlimited spending.
The tax on our gasoline is already a mileage tax. The more you drive the more you pay.
We already pay a mileage tax...the taxes we pay on gas. Of course, some of us pay more than others depending on our mileage.
Smart phones / GPS / programmed to transmit data.
So are they collecting the tax every day? Week?
No?
Then they do NOT need “GPS application that has been programmed to allow them to submit information”
The information is built into every damn car on the road.
It is an odometer.
The ONLY reason for GPS is to track where you are going, not how many miles you drove.
This is nothing more than desensitizing American Citizens to being tracked and watched every minute of every day.
.
In a note of irony, if the libertarian had their way... I'd be ok contracting with a private road firm for this same service.
I just don't want the GOVERNMENT having that much control over my movement.
10 years from now:
1. They won’t charge you for the drive to the abortion center , the union hall, or the Obama “re-election” campaign rallies. In fact, you might even get a rebate.
2. They will charge you $5.00 per mile to go to any Tea Party rally or church.
Darn it... Mad enough about this one that I can't type...
Easy, vehicle inspections buy "state approved inspectors". Oh, goody, MORE Gov't employees!
“Sadly they’ll wind up w/ well more than 500 drooling imbeciles demand more govt oversight of their lives....and yours.”
And THAT, my FRiend, is the most pathetic part of the entire concept.
This is a horrible idea even for Marx Dayton.
It’s not going anywhere while the conservative Republicans now control both houses of the MN legislature.
Never-the-less, it certainly reveals alot about government attitudes toward our wallets, doesn’t it?
we are already taxed by the mile with the gas we buy.
this is double tax!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.