  The celestial, steampunk GPS |
“Sweetheart. What’s with the meat cleaver?”
“Herbert, You said you went bowling last night. That’s 11.2 miles from here. The GPS record shows you drove only 8.3 miles. That’s exactly the distance to that slut Edna’s house. Explain yourself!”
While the exact details are still being ironed out, Gov. Kulongoski’s web page gives the basics. He states, “As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
He is creating a task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.” Key studies were performed in 2006 and 2007 that indicate that such a program would indeed be possible.
In the 2007 test which lasted 10 months with 300 motorists at two service stations, drivers were taxed 1.2 cents per mile and were refunded the 24 cents a gallon state gas tax. When the motorists got to the pump, their vehicles connected to government computers informing them of the mileage (calculated via GPS tracking) and issuing tax. Equipment for the test came from Oregon State University.
[…]
Despite assurances from James Whitty, the ODOT official in charge of the project, that the new GPS system would not be used for continuous tracking of citizens’ cars, many advocacy groups are outraged and many remain fearful. The final report on the 2007 test deployment was conscious of this fear, stating, “The concept requires no transmission of vehicle travel locations, either in real time or of travel history. Accordingly, no travel location points are stored within the vehicle or transmitted elsewhere. Thus there can be no ‘tracking’ of vehicle movements.”
No back door for the Feds to track criminals? Riiiight. Next up, GPS watches to track your movements.
#63 – Paddy-RAMBO
>>There is Gov’t IOUs only, not a single penny
>>of real money. Your lack of general knowledge
>>is truly shocking.
So. Let’s see if we understand you, Paddy-RAMBO. Your thesis is that the US government is going to default on Treasury bonds. Is that about right?
#63–Paddy==well, you got Monster Even for all my abuse. I had pretty well forgotten about that nugget. Its hard to understand, so I just openned up another can of pessimism and assume the current Trust Fund is not leading to National Savings given our Failure In Chief’s recent 12 Trillion run up of the current deficit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Trust_Fund
#66 – Deborah
Hey, are you related to Ruth?
#64,
Poison,
>>There is Gov’t IOUs only, not a single penny
>>of real money. Your lack of general knowledge
>>is truly shocking.
So. Let’s see if we understand you, Paddy-RAMBO. Your thesis is that the US government is going to default on Treasury bonds. Is that about right?
It isn’t a matter of defaulting on the bonds. It’s a matter of inflating the money supply to cash them in (you know, like loaning money to bankrupt corporations?). If the money had been left alone and in the fund, it would be there. As it stands, the goobermint spent the money and took out loans to cover their expenditures.
They didn’t loan the money out . . . they spent it. It’s gone. Then they bought the bonds themselves on their own accounts . . . THEY took out the loan. The SSTF is running on borrowed money and paying interest to the Fed to keep itself solvent.
http://tinyurl.com/6qyord
#60,
>>Unfortunately, when there is a big bucket of
>>money, people want a share. That is the
>>nature of big government.
It’s even more the nature of corporate predators. At least when government does it, it’s considered wrong. When the predators do it, they get a huge bonus.
Then how can you, seeing over 100 years abuse as proof, continue to support the looting of America’s lower and middle classes to fill the trough for these predators? You are an exercise in blind allegiance.
Remove the incentive, the money, from goobermint control.
And you’re right, I must live in places with efficient local governments. And I’ve lived in WA, IN, IL, MN, MA, CT, OH, NJ, and FL. The only real problem I recall having with roads was the TOLL ROAD (GSP) in New Jersey. What a shithole.
Interesting. Those states are at the top of the “we have to sell these assets” list. Interesting indeed. Perhaps they should have spent more time investing in their infrastructure instead of social programs.
I agree with everyone who wonders why an odometer reading wouldn’t work as well (or better)? Then you would have the intrusion of the government knowing exactly where you went. But what I really think this is about, is just more FUD toward the Electric Car. It’s like they’re saying to the public, “If too many electric cars replace fueled one, we’ll have to use this far more intrusive means of collecting your highway taxes. So you better do everything you can to oppose electric cars, or government will turn into Big Brother on all your asses!” Or another way of putting it might be, “gas pumps spell freedom, electrical outlets spell trouble”. Not that I agree. It what the oil companies probably got Oregon’s government to create fear of. It seems pretty stupid for them to be worrying about this, when the number of electric car users must number only in the dozens, right now, in Oregon. There are more people pedaling bikes. Are they gonna tax them too, with GPS?
#69 – Liberty Loser
>>Then how can you, seeing over 100 years
>>abuse as proof, continue to support the
>>looting of America’s lower and middle
>>classes to fill the trough for these
>>predators?
Predators? You mean the corporations? I don’t support their predation. They are responsible to no one (except their shareholder, who demand more and more rapacious predation).
>>Perhaps they should have spent more time
>>investing in their infrastructure instead of
>>social programs.
Why? I just told you that their roads are fine. It’s only the for-profit roads that I’ve had trouble with.
As to SS, we can all breathe easier now, knowing that Dumbya didn’t succeed in his attempt to sell our retirements off to the cannibals of Wall Street. Praise the Lord.
#69,
Poison,
You’re missing the point. If there is a large sum of money, it isn’t just the corporations trying to get it, it is the individual senators and representatives that redirecting funds to their own districts instead of where it was supposed to go.
Examples:
— 350k for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
— 250k for the Country Music Hall of Fame
— 150k for the Grammy Foundation
— 250k for Alaska Statehood celebration
— 25k for a mariachi music course in Nevada
— 250k for sidewalk repairs in Boca Raton
— 1.4M for upgrades to Airport in Alaska
— 218k for Port of Brookings Harbor, Oregon, for construction of a seafood processing plant
— 100k City of Rochester, NY for film festival
Why aren’t the states and private industry paying for these? Because the special interests asked their senators and reps to redirect the funds.
Here is some more wasteful spending:
http://tinyurl.com/88coq2
And don’t get me started on “American Classic Voyages.”
These are just the tip of the iceberg. As long the goobermint continues to promote the looting of its citizens in the guise of “public good” this kind of corporate welfare and corruption will continue.
The only way to solve it is to remove the incentive, the money.
>>Perhaps they should have spent more time
>>investing in their infrastructure instead of
>>social programs.
Why? I just told you that their roads are fine. It’s only the for-profit roads that I’ve had trouble with.
That’s what you said but I have to assume it is biased opinion and not fact. I’ve been to those states in my travels and overall they aren’t in that great of shape compared to the toll roads I’ve been on.
As to SS, we can all breathe easier now, knowing that Dumbya didn’t succeed in his attempt to sell our retirements off to the cannibals of Wall Street. Praise the Lord.
SS paid out over 610B this year alone. How much was the bailout law for?
Plus, you should know that the privatization of SS wasn’t just for investing in Wall Street. We could have bought T-Bills instead. Let’s see, do I want to buy a T-Bill to back up a T-Bill? Insanity.
I think a chip in everyone’s head is next.
to bad we cant do like the governor when they cant balance the budget find away to get more taxes.and it never ends.you never here of them cutting in house cost.