On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 11:07:55 -0400, "Ted B." > wrote:

>
>"Ed Stasiak" > wrote in message
roups.com...
>BBC News
>Sunday, 5 June, 2005
>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4610755.stm
>
>'Pay-as-you-go' road charge plan
>(snip)
>
>In other words, another tax that favors the rich. I don't know how it is in
>England, but a similar road use taxing scheme in the U.S. would hit the poor
>and middle-class HARD, while the rich would hardly pay anything at all.

Yep. There's not nearly as many rich people, and they can only drive 1 car at
a time, just like anyone else, so they, as a group, wouldn't be paying much at
all.

>In the U.S., most people can't afford to LIVE anywhere near where they WORK.
>That's because the employers are in areas where housing prices are sky-high.

Housing prices are high because they are near the employment!

>The rich will have condos or houses near enough to work that they can walk
>or ride a bicycle.

That too.

> Everbody else (the middle class and down) have to
>commute to work, most driving a half hour or longer one way.

Yep.

>Result: Almost all road maintenance paid by the poor and middle class, and
>almost NOTHING paid by the rich for maintaining the roads. Great
>ystem. -Dave

Sure enough. The rich will take their private planes cross country, too, and
escape the road tax that way. OTOH, if they get a tax plan so simple that it
is just a matter of collecting the money by reading GPS information from
passing cars, they'll have travel taxed at $1 a mile or more overnight, no
matter what road you're using. If you have a long driveway, it might cost you
$1.00 for the round trip just to get the mail! It'll cost $6000 - $9000 for a
driving vacation like you might have taken as a kid - and you'll be the last
one out there, 'cuz no one else, except the rich will be able to afford it,
and they'll be flying anyway...

Dave Head
>