Free Republic

A tax on the miles you drive could be a way to pay for Texas roads in the future. Texas transportation planners are studying the idea of a “mileage meter” to help raise money. Cars built after 1999 have a computer port that can access many types of data about the vehicle. Progressive Insurance already offers a device that connects to that port for pay as you go rates. “Mileage does have a lot to do with it,” said Mike Leonard, a Progressive insurance agent in Carrollton. “The less the miles, the less exposure Progressive has. So therefore, they’re willing...

Every year around Christmastime, the Census Bureau releases its population estimates for each state for the 12 months ending on July 1. The numbers look dry on a sheet of paper (or on an Excel spreadsheet on your computer), but they tell some vivid stories. The more so when they reflect, as the numbers for 2008-09 do, the effects of a sharp downward shift in the nation’s economy. Given the recession, it’s not a surprise that percentage growth, at 0.86 percent, was the lowest in this decade, just a tad below the rate in 2002-03, and well below the peak...

The activists who gathered at California's Democratic Party convention this weekend would like to see the 2004 election as Bush vs. Clinton. Not Sen. Hillary Clinton, but Bill Clinton. California Democrats are searching for the winning candidate and many say he should resemble the last Democratic president. "I'VE REALLY GOT to tell you, I miss Bill Clinton," said Red Blum, a veteran Democratic operative from Fullerton, Calif. "He was a charming rascal, but he was intellectually curious -- he could talk all night about anything. He left us a big budget surplus. He had people in the Middle East talking...