| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Think it's 2006? In Oregon, it's 1984. |
| 2006-03-26 |
| Via Drudge. Gas tax on miles, not gallons, tested PORTLAND, Ore., March 25 (UPI) -- Oregon is testing the idea of collecting highway funds through a tax on miles driven, rather than gasoline consumed. Eighty percent of Oregon's highway money comes from its 24-cents-per-gallon gas tax. If the state promotes reducing gasoline consumption and consumers tend to buy the fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, highway revenues would take a hit, The New York Times reported. So they don't really want people to drive less or buy fuel-efficient cars, unless they can still get their baksheesh. The test program uses a global positioning system to track miles driven, using a black box to calculate how many miles are clocked in-state, out of state and during rush hour. If the citizens of Oregon accept this shit, they deserve it. As far as I'm concerned, it's none of the state's fucking business where and how far I drive. The experiment is designed to increase state revenue for road maintenance without raising gasoline taxes, but critics say collecting GPS records poses new privacy issues. "The existence of such a database, which would, for the first time in history, allow for the creation of detailed daily itineraries of every driver, raises obvious privacy concerns," said David L. Sobel, general counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a civil liberties group in Washington. What are these commie-wannabes going to do about people driving in from out of state - meet them at the border with a gps? Is there something in the water out there that makes them fucking nuts? Pfui. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut |
| #6 The test is to see if the system works and if confidentiallity is protected. The mileage calculations can be hidden behind a secure wall (with keys if law enforcement requires it) so that no one actually knows who went where when. The State will only know the total number of miles driven; how many miles were driven during 6-9 am, how many between 4-7 pm, etc. |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-03-27 00:00 |
| #5 #3 Davd D: "Sheesh..." Don't you mean baksheesh? ;-p |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-03-26 21:50 |
| #4 Since it depends on the GPS tracking and since that's an unwarranted invasion of privacy this will be struck down so fast it will be a joy to watch their heads spinning from the impact. There are certainly a LOT of RFSP in the Oregon legislature. |
| Posted by: Flailet Unoper7560 2006-03-26 21:44 |
| #3 What's next-- forced implantation of RFID chips at birth? Tattooed numbers on forearms? Sheesh... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-03-26 21:30 |
| #2 ... unless they can still get their baksheesh. Absolutely correct. Perfect application of that word. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2006-03-26 21:17 |
| #1 Why do I think that whoever suggested this gets his or her panties in a twist over NSA spying on calls to bin Laden? |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2006-03-26 20:44 |