The article titled Increase the Gas Tax introduces the idea
that more funding for our transportation system is needed; however, many
politicians are not willing to support the proposal for an increase in state
and federal gas taxes to provide the money. I was intrigued by the fact that a
portion of the government is contemplating substituting the increase in gas tax
with a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax. The new proposal includes drivers
paying per mile traveled instead of per gallons used. Drivers would receive a
monthly or yearly bill depending on the distance traveled instead of conveniently
paying at the pump. My attention was especially caught by the intrusion of
privacy posed by the GPS tracking systems that would monitor the miles traveled
to ensure accountability is met when paying bills according to the mileage. Increasing
the gas tax seems to be the easiest option, but the hardest to get passed by
the legislation.
The author, Duncan Black, writes with supporters of
increasing gas taxes as his intended audience. Duncan Black is a fellow for
Media Matters for America and an editorial columnist for USA Today. Black is in
favor of increasing gas taxes for the state and federal governments rather than
placing the economic burden on the American population. He claims that raising
gas taxes would be an unpopular thing to do with elections right around the
corner. However, Washington and Nevada are testing the GPS technology and
Nevada is preparing to do so, as reported earlier this year by USA Today. Black
believes that paying at the pump and gas station owners turning over the money
to the government rewards those who use better mileage cars and lighter
vehicles with lower gas prices which in turn results in less damage to our
transportation system. Black claims that another option to the GPS system would
be self-reporting; however, that poses a threat to accountability. Black concludes his argument by stating that
even though the gas tax would take a toll on poorer individuals that a simple
solution to this would be to lower the income tax burden for low-income
individuals ensuring that the simple existing system stays in place.
I agree with Black that the legislation should pass an
increase for gas taxes rather than making the average citizen carry the burden
of invasion of privacy and inconvenience. I believe that the excess work and
stress for the government to implement a whole new method of enforcement and
money collecting is not worth imposing on people’s rights to privacy and
raising the costs of driving and getting around town. The VMT seems to be a good
option in the long run, but now it seems to be a problem and the best bet is to
raise the gas tax. People are used to this system and putting a whole new one
in place would disrupt easy daily activities such as pumping gas when in a
hurry for work into a complicated process.
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