Posted on 11/13/2008 6:31:24 AM PST by chrislind2
GPS And Taxes: An Intrusive Combination The Washington Dispatch ^ | July 18, 2003 | Cathryn Crawford
Posted on Friday, July 18, 2003 7:07:28 AM by Cathryn Crawford
GPS And Taxes: An Intrusive Combination
by Cathryn Crawford
Jul 18, 2003
Some things just aren’t that shocking anymore. Oregon, the state known for its law that fines you for speaking out against a public worker or a state official, has a new socialistic program in mind. It’s a dream come true for the government, both state and federal, in that it not only promotes the idea of Big Brother, but it also brings in plenty of cash for the bureaucrats to waste.
Oregon’s Road User Fee Task Force (what a name) is proposing that a GPS transponder be installed in every vehicle, and that every vehicle should be tracked and monitored so that “road taxes” may be paid for every mile the car is driven. In other words, for every mile you drive, you’ll be taxed. They might as well call it a fee for the privilege of moving about, because that’s exactly what it is. This new tax is proposed to cover the costs of road repairs – obviously, the already high gas taxes aren’t enough.
The practical problems with this are myriad. What if your car is stolen? Are you going to be expected to pay for the 500 miles that jerk drove your car? What would be done about out of state vehicles? Are they let off the hook? Are they supposed to stop at the border to have a GPS installed, then stop at the other side and have it taken out? What if someone else borrows your car? Do you have to pay his taxes? Who’s going to pay for the installation of the GPS system – wait, now there’s an answer that’s easy to figure out!
The fact that this idea is being promoted by a Democratic governor is no surprise. After all, this is also a dream come true for the environmentalists – when drivers stop going places because it’s costing them so much, the great Satan of pollution will be reduced, right?
Of course, the bureaucrats in Oregon are sure that the tracking devices will never be used in a way that will in any way curb our civil liberties (insert eye-rolling here). Of course not! Don’t you trust the government? How dare you suspect their motives? Just because they’re going to know exactly what you do and where you go doesn’t mean they’ll actually use that knowledge against you one day! It’s all safe in the hands of the government, just like your money.
And even if they do, it’ll only be for legal purposes. After all, as Jim Whitty, the administrator of RUTF, said - it would only be used to track you “if there was a police necessity, perhaps.” Interesting. I wonder what Whitty constitutes as a necessity - and why is he so vauge about the entire issue?
This may have a snowball’s chance in hell of being implemented soon in Oregon, but the fact that an idea like this is even being considered and suggested is a serious problem. Once it goes on record as a viable way to bring in money, this idea will be refined and rehashed until someone, somewhere – perhaps not in Oregon, perhaps in your state, perhaps in the federal government – decides that it needs to happen. Then, every mile that you drive will be another contribution to the already engorged government, and every move you make will be recorded for the vauge purposes of “police necessity”. _________________________________________________________
Cathryn Crawford is a student from Texas. You can read more of her writings and opinion on her blog, and she can be reached for comment at feedback@washingtondispatch.com.
If it does happen, remember, there has never been a GPS receiver made that cannot be wholly defeated by the proper application of tin foil....
Jeez, and to think I was disgusted when they wouldn't let me pump my own gas when I traveled through there.....
The Big Brother factor is the ONLY reason to push this. Fuel taxes already do a near-perfect job of imposing a cost proportional to road use (even to the point of naturally penalizing heavy vehicles that cause more wear & tear on pavement).
Of course, you may have trouble actually finding tin foil. Perhaps you mean aluminum foil?
You said — “If it does happen, remember, there has never been a GPS receiver made that cannot be wholly defeated by the proper application of tin foil....”
Very true, but then you open yourself up to punitive penalties for violating the law. I would imagine that there are going to be some draconian measures for those who try to override the system...
I remember reading about this a few years ago. Has it been “working its way through the system” all this time?
I hate it when people are vauge.
Without a doubt. If you have a strong understanding of RF, as I do, you just have to be clever. There are many very subtle ways to block weak signals or trick receivers......
If you want to split hairs, brass or copper would be better than aluminum. Actually, a well placed straight pin will do wonders......no tin foil needed (aluminum either).....
It would be awful if there were “fault” in your car spewing broadband hash all over the spectrum...especially in the frequencies that the GPS system uses.
Wouldn't that be awful? I envision it being similar to the cell phone jammers that are currently available.....
Yes, I can see develpment of a whole cottage industry to manufacture spoofing devices to (pardon the expression) “foil” GPS-based mileage trackers.
The State house and Senate have big D majorities. The enviornmentalists rule this state. No logging, no fishing, no motorized vehicles in the "state or Fed forests" which total over 90% of our land mass. Unemployment is over 8% and our number one export is our children.
It doesn't occur to the powers that be, that freeing up logging and fishing would bring in tons of revenue to the state coffers and jobs. My county, of 100,000 people, receives $50,000,000 from the federal government every year from the feds(the taxpayer). It was the deal we cut with Clinton when he saved the forests for the spotted owl. We had one mill in our county, and then we had dozens, but one mill sent $25 million in tax revenue to DC in one year before the spotted owl.
She lost her credibility with the above sentence. As a life long Oregonian, I know of no such law.
You see this sort of mismanagement everywhere DemocRats are in charge. Fortunately, Tennessee took on a slightly deeper shade of red this past election. Both our state houses are now in Republican control (for the first time since reconstruction). I hope they realize the gravity of the situation and don't blow it.....
Faraday Cage.
Copper jacketed lead would be a better solution.
Boy, that brought back memories! Back in the 70s I took the family from California to Oregon on a three-week RV holiday. We entered Oregon and I thought the place was beautiful.
Strike One. We hit the first gas station inside their border and I started pumping gas. The attendant came running out yelling, "You're breaking the law! You're breaking the law!" WTF? Then we learn that we drivers are too stupid to pump our own gas and might spill some, creating a fire hazard.
Strike Two. Next we hit their Welcome Center and were handed a questionnaire, asking among other things, would I pay them for a map of the state? Mind you, we've been all over the country and always got a free map plus tons of brochures bragging up the particular state. In Louisiana we even got free coffee.
Strike Three. We enter a coastal State Park and are told that since we aren't Oregonians, we have to pay an extra $2 daily to stay there. We are also informed that since the parks are maintained by license fees on RVs in Oregon, "it is only fair" that out-of-state RVers are taxed also. I mention to the sweet young thing that perhaps Oregonians can afford RVs only because tourists like us spend money there. Blank stare. The next morning we headed for Washington state and Canada and never spent any money in Oregon again, other than to buy enough gas to get us up to Washington.
At that time, Oregon had a three-legged economy - fishing, timber and tourism. They have killed the first two and ticked off the third. Dunno how much it has changed, but back then the wife made the perceptive comment that all the new cars were from out of state - the locals had junkers.
Do you have anything more recent on this subject than this 5 year old article. The website for the publication doesn’t even exist anymore.
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.