Some States are proposing taxing motorists by the mile instead of by the gallon.
Gasoline tax revenues, which are supposed to pay for road maintenance, are in decline. Electric cars make up almost 5% of the product mix and are steadily climbing. As a result, some States are proposing or have implemented annual $400 registration fees for electric cars so that they pay their "fair share" of road taxes.
But cars and even trucks and SUVs are getting better and better gas mileage and as a result, using less gas and paying fewer dollars in gas taxes. Some States have proposed - or are experimenting with or have implemented - the idea of charging motorists by the mile, instead of by the gallon.
This is a horrendous idea for several reasons.
First, the current system rewards people who use less gas. The driver of the Prius pays less in fuel tax than the driver of the RAM pickup truck. This adds an incentive to buy fuel-efficient vehicles, which as we have seen, is not only better for the environment but a matter of national security. When the price of gas skyrockets due to shortages, we all suffer - and the economy suffers. Mileage taxes punish people with efficient cars and reward those with gas-guzzlers.
So you'd think this would be a popular idea with the MAGA set, right? Think again. You see, some States, such as Virginia, are experimenting with the idea of installing an electronic monitoring device in a motorist's car, to determine how far they are driving and then charging them by the mile. In theory, this would not only keep track of taxes in one State but also track what other States you go to and then allow those States to charge you by the mile. The government would now have real-time tracking of every motorist in the country.
Big Brother Much? It is a fascist's dream.
Think about how this would work for a moment. Suppose you are one of those "rugged individualists" and drive a 1990 Chevy Tahoe. You eschew these tracking devices because, "Free-Dums!" and you drive anyway. The Police would have to set up an electronic system to detect which cars are mileage-tax scofflaws and then pull them over, much as they can detect if you have a radar detector or not (illegal, coincidentally, in Virginia - Sic Semper Tyrannis!).
We already live in a surveillance world. People are caught committing crimes these days, as they are tracked by "pings" from cell phone towers. They are caught on security cameras. Their purchase histories via credit or debt cards can be tracked. It is a good thing criminals are caught and convicted, to be sure.
But what happens when the State decides that "criminal" is defined by speaking out against the State? This hasn't quite happened just yet, but if people like Trump or DeSantis get their way, it could be a real thing. Book banning? Check. "Don't Say Gay?" Check. Book burnings? Check, Check, Check! All this specious talk of "grooming" and "death penalty for groomers" pretty much maps out where they want to go with this, and it is scary.
Heinlein wrote about this in more than one of his books, such as Glory Road, which was an ode to libertarianism and "Sovereign Citizens." In his books, he tells of a future where individual cars can be tracked and remotely disabled or remotely driven by fascist "proctors." You try to escape and your own car drives you to the Police station. Saves a lot of money on roadblocks!
Again, this all seems swell - catching criminals and whatnot. And who can say that mandatory breathalyzers in cars is a bad thing? If it saves even one life..... But hopefully the self-driving car will solve that problem - or will it?
The incredible complexity of these systems is also a concern. Over the years, the American automobile has morphed from the primitive Model-T to an electronic marvel with airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, and a host of safety assists and electronic interfaces and communication systems. Even our lowly hamster will dial 911 if it detects the airbags have deployed.
But of course, this means a modern mechanic needs to have a degree in computer science to succeed, and few have that level of talent. When I took the Ford into have a new camera installed under warranty, they had to wait a week for "the guy" who knew how to program the computer system to recognize the camera, to rotate in from another dealer. The guy.
The local KIA dealer isn't taking appointments until late August (two months from now!) as the dealership in Savannah lost their "guy" and all the customers from there are flooding our small town dealership. The only thing you can get an appointment for is oil changes and tires.
No one wants to work anymore? No, no one has the skills necessary in our modern world. We have coffee-shop baristas with philosophy degrees, but no one wants to be a plumber or HVAC tech (both of which pay far higher). Maybe the marketplace will straighten this out - but it takes several years to push new mechanics through the training pipeline. Capitalism doesn't react in real-time.
I am not sure if these ideas will pan out - I suspect they will, over time. Slowly, like a frog in a pot, we are getting used to more and more surveillance in our lives. We were OK with red-light cameras (although the one in our local town seems to have disappeared) but not OK with speed cameras (the difference being what?). Our friends in the UK have the latter - and a plethora of CCTV monitoring stations whose sole purpose is to thwart crime. In America, most CCTV is privately owned, either by businesses or households. We have yet to form a seamless net of surveillance.
Yet.
Virginia is pitching their system as a "money-saver" for motorists (citizens) who don't drive much and thus would pay less in annual highway user fees. If so, what is the point of the program? It would actually decrease revenue for the State. I think the real answer is, this is the camel's nose in the tent, Once they get people used to being tracked for mileage, they can then charge motorists by-the-mile, and the overall revenue (and cost to the motorist) will be more than before. What's more, every car will now have a tracking device installed in it. I mean, what's not to like?
Less government, not more. And no, we don't need tracking chips - in our cars or anywhere else for that matter!
