I’ve never understood the contradiction of Blue States. On one hand, they’ll tell you left and right that money should be confiscated from the rich to help the poor; it is after all their solemn obligation as citizens of these here United States to do the right thing for their fellow man. We’re often reminded, particularly during election time, that candidate X or candidate Y is not going to be benefitting the working class. In fact, you need to only look back as far as the prior election to see plenty examples of President Elect Barack Obama telling us that everyone (except him, of course) has plans to hurt blue collar workers.
A few weeks ago, New York introduced their “doomsday” budget which included new taxes on all kinds of fun stuff like beer, soda, movies, etc. New York City’s MTA is also going through a massive budget crisis requiring them to raise fares from $2.00 per ride to $2.50 per ride in the next few weeks. On top of that, North Carolina was reported as working on a plan to get drivers to have their odometers checked once a year so that they could be taxed on the miles they drove.
Apparently, Oregon caught wind of it and is now in the planning stages of implementing a similar tax, this time based on GPS positioning.
A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.
Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.
As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”
What that means is explained on the governor’s website:
“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.
The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
This got me thinking… Oregon, New York, and North Carolina are Blue States. If you notice, you don’t hear about these draconian taxes being proposed in Red States at all, only Blue States; the ones that supposedly care most about the hard working average guy. The problem with that, of course, is that every single one of these taxes that are being proposed are 100% regressive, meaning they hurt the poor and working class more than the upper wealthy class.
How do people reconcile this? They never explain how this isn’t a regressive tax that hurts the working stiff more than it hurts the upper class. Put it another way: some guy making $250,000 and driving a $75,000 car to work every day has to pay $500 a year in road-use taxes. Another guy barely making ends meet has to pay the same tax. Who does it hurt more? I’m not about class warfare and I’m certainly not saying this should only be a tax on the “rich” people who drive, but I’m bringing this up as a point of questioning; how do those who claim everything is an attack on the poor and working class reconcile that with regressive taxation that will, in the end, only hurt the bottom income levels?
Let’s face it; the Blue States love putting their hands in your pockets, no matter your income level, and the next time you hear some lefty loon telling you how evil Red Staters are only out for the rich, ask yourself how a regressive tax such as a road use tax actually helps the poor. And, when you come up with that answer, leave it in the comments, because I sure as hell would like to know the answer myself.
