With the left’s war on fuel there has long been speculation about this very idea, taxing people for driving. If you want to find a way to cripple an economy that is based on supply chains, made up of truckers, one of the best ways I can think of to do so would be to tax them by the mile.
The effect this would have on the auto industry, the fuel industry and the economy as a whole would be beyond DEVASTATING.
It’s almost as if the Democrats WANT the nation’s economic engine to collapse under it’s own weight …
John Solomon’s Just The News is reporting:
‘Incoming Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has suggested taxing Americans for the number of miles they drive, a policy he endorsed as a Democratic presidential candidate.
The Biden Administration is actively searching for ways to fund its ambitious $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., acknowledged “privacy concerns” related to implementing a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) system but said it should be considered as a potential replacement for the gas tax.
During Buttigieg’s confirmation hearing in the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Thursday, Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott asked him if he would support increasing the federal gas tax, which is currently charged to drivers in addition to state gas taxes. The federal gas and diesel tax is the primary source of funding for the Federal Highway Trust Fund.
“I think all options need to be on the table, as you know, the [federal] gas tax has not been increased since 1993, and it has never been pegged to inflation, and it’s one of the reasons why the current state of Highway Trust Fund is that there’s more going out than coming in,” Buttigieg replied. “In the long term, we need to bear in mind also that as vehicles become more efficient and as we pursue electrification, sooner or later, there will be questions about whether the gas tax can be effective at all.”
The state of Virginia has started charging a “highway use fee” to drivers with vehicles that the state government deems “fuel-efficient,” including gas and diesel vehicles. The fee varies based on how fuel-efficient the government determines the vehicle to be, and the government can adjust the tax rate as it chooses.
A source in Virginia’s Department of Transportation told Just the News last year that VDOT is studying how to implement a system to tax drivers for the specific number of miles they drive, similar to the one Buttigieg has suggested.
Buttigieg said tying the gas tax to inflation as well as the VMT model would be considered by the Biden Administration.
“A lot has been suggested recently about the idea of vehicle-miles-traveled-based, so if we’re committed to the idea of user-pays, then part of how you might do that would be based on vehicle miles traveled [VMT],” he said. “But that raises, of course, concerns about privacy and there remains some technological questions too. These are examples of some of the things that could be part of the solution, but I know that’s going to have to be a conversation, not only in the administration, but with Congress too.”‘
China must be laughing their asses off BIGLY. Why attack the US when they can install leaders who will destroy ourselves from within.
Even if these guys are not all on the take and they have good intentions in their hearts … the fact of the matter is, all they are doing is bringing about a collapse and subsequent depression the likes of which the US has not seen in about 100 years.
