Transportation

(2/23/2009) - Ray LaHood, Obama's Secretary of Transportation, brought up a good idea last week.  He said, "We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled."

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stated that, "It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration."  While I can see why the administration might want to take their time considering and developing such a proposal, or wait until the recession has subsided to implement the plan, it is regretful that they are dismissing it out of hand, for now and in the future, because the concept could offer numerous benefits.

The general idea is pretty straight forward - you tax drivers for the number of miles they drive.  Most press coverage has focused on a pilot program in Oregon, which recorded drivers' mileage using a GPS device and taxed them based on not only how many miles were driven, but by where and what time they drive.  According to the Washington Post, "Twenty-two percent of 300 participants drove less during peak hours. Most drivers said they thought the rates were reasonable; nine out of 10 said they preferred a mileage tax to a gas tax." 

(12/8/2008) - Wendell Cox and Ronald D. Utt have written an article for the Heritage Foundation entitled “Transportation Policy: Getting the Facts Straight.”  They conclude:

“Congress may soon be embarking upon a massive spending program that is without precedent. And while the purposes of such a package will be both to stimulate the economy and "lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth," as President-elect Obama promised, the facts presented above suggest that money devoted to technologically obsolete transportation schemes that the public does not use will undermine both of these goals, and America will be a poorer place because of it.”

The basic idea Cox and Utt are pushing is that transit receives more funding than its ridership warrants, and that there are more efficient ways to reduce greenhouse emissions related to transportation.  To make this case, they throw up a lot of facts, but little context.  I think its important to examine some of the false choices Cox and Utt construct, as they have become prevelent in a large portion of society.

Transit vs. Cars

This probably won’t come as a shock, but the fact is that America is a car-centric country.  With drive-through everything, cul-de-sac suburbs, and ten lane freeways, we have been the most car-loving nation since at least the 1920’s, if not since the invention of the internal combustion engine.