This past week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell introduced his comprehensive plan to overhaul how the state funds transportation.
The plan calls for a complete elimination of the gas tax while raising the sales tax to not only offset the loss of revenue, but raise even more revenue.
Sounds interesting, right?
The idea in and of itself has merit. The plan moves the transportation revenue stream to a tax that rises with inflation and better compensates for the ever increasing costs of road construction.
Anyone who has driven extended amounts on our roads here in Tobacco Road can tell you that they definitely could use some upgrading, unless you live in and around
McDonnell’s plan also calls for an increase in registration fees and increases the amount of sales tax used to fund transportation to 25 cents.
So far, so good. I can relate to these proposals.
The plan continues by saying that those people who own hybrids or other fuel-reducing or fuel alternative vehicles must pay an additional $100 fee.
Wait … what?
So let me get this straight — if I go out and do the right thing and purchase a vehicle that reduces my dependency on gasoline, I have to pay an additional registration fee? And conversely, if I go out and buy a massive SUV or monster truck that gets, at best, 20 miles per gallon, not only am I rewarded by not paying more taxes for using more gas, but I actually have lower registration fees every year as well?
Wow, sounds like an awesome deal, particularly if I want to ensure that oil and gas remains the big dog, so to speak. Shouldn’t we at least be giving lip service to oil reduction?
I know that no one really wants to get off the oil teat presented to us by the Saudis and others — much like a drug dealer displaying his wares — but we can at least pretend to want to not have to deal with the Middle East and its caldron of problems.
Seems to me giving people a tax break for purchasing a vehicle that gets double the gas mileage would be the way to go during these times, but instead the governor of
I have said that this has become “Bizarro World.” Any Superman or Justice League fans out there will know to what I am referring. For those who do not know the reference, in Bizarro World, everything is exactly opposite from how it should be.
Good is bad, evil is good and so forth.
We all have seen signs of Bizarro World taking hold. People are praised and promoted at their jobs for doing absolutely nothing — and doing absolutely nothing quite well.
We see honorable people passed over while their lazy counterparts thrive. We see people like the Kardashians or Honey Boo Boo rewarded for not only having no talent but generally being shallow people, while those who genuinely want to help others must toil away living almost a day to day existence.
We see Sarah Jessica Parker viewed as one with sex appeal and considered a fashion icon.
How does this craziness happen?
The point is we need to get out of Bizarro World and come back to reality. We need to reduce our consumption of oil and gas, not reward ourselves so we can go buy an even bigger, less efficient SUV. It’s not like we car pool anymore anyway.
So why all the extra room?
Here’s an idea. Maybe if we made the cars a tad less comfortable, people would actually drive the speed limit in an attempt to get off the road. Haven’t we all been behind the guy that is driving 20 mph under the speed limit and thinks his front seat is the couch in his living room?
Oh well, I digress.
Richard Clark is the desk chief for Halifax Communications ENC. You can reach him at 910-219-8452 or at Richard.Clark@jdnews.com.