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ORIGINAL: Kirata

We pay road taxes for the purpose they were implemented to serve. If that purpose was to maintain the roadway, and the money is spent on something else instead, then it's thievery. You may not care, being apparently an obedient sort who is willing to fork over what is demanded without question. But allow the rest of us to think differently without being called liars and whiners.
 
K.
 

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Then take mass transit? Or use one of those bike/walking trails, it's better for you and for the environment, and it saves you money. I still don't see what the issue is, it sounds like they're taxing things that are environmentally unfriendly (driving) and putting it towards greener things, I don't see how that's a bad thing.

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ORIGINAL: slaveboyforyou

I hate to break it to you, but not every city and town has mass transit.  The majority of cities and towns don't have bike and walking trails.  Riding a bicycle to work is not feasible for many people in this country.  It's either too far to ride, or it's entirely too dangerous.  Not everyone can live in a place like Vancouver B.C., where you are lucky enough to have those amenities.  So you should get off your high horse. 

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And Canadian cities are a lot more spread out than the majority of American cities.

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Biking is an option for employees who live close to the office. But it might prove challenging for the average American. The average commute to work is 30 miles, according to Steve Reich, program director at the Center for Urban Transit Research at the University of South Florida. With gas at $3 per gallon, it costs the average employee more than $100 monthly to drive to work, he says. Now that gas is closer to $4, the average employee is more likely to shell out about $140 monthly just on commuting.   

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Census data showed that workers were commuting farther to work in 2006 than in 2001, and a slightly decreasing proportion were driving their car to work. The average distance travelled by workers to their place of work in 2006 was 7.6 kilometres, up from 7.2 kilometres in 2001 and 7.0 kilometres in 1996. Workers in Ontario had the highest average distance in 2006 at 8.7 kilometres.  

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ORIGINAL: BbwCanaDomme

the majority of people who drive do it for convinience rather than necessity.

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ORIGINAL: BbwCanaDomme

the majority of people who drive do it for convinience rather than necessity.

I would appreciate you sharing with us the data you are relying on for this statement, unless it's just another conclusion reflecting the assumption that your personal experience determines everyone else's reality.

K.

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ORIGINAL: Coldwarrior57

WHAT!!!!!
Ohh yea he doesnt have to pay for his own fuel!
and neither does team barry.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/196613.php
Can we expect a tax hike on gas?
Can you afford a tax hike on gas?

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ORIGINAL: samboct

You know- if we take a step back and look at the problem from some different angles- there's a certain truth to energy prices being too low- relative to things like housing, cars, and appliances.

What happens if energy prices rise relative to the cost of purchase of goods?

1)  Life cycle costs begin to play a more important role than initial purchase price.  If energy prices are low- then the initial cost of a durable good is all that matters- and we get a race to the bottom in prices.  Theoretically good for the consumer- but not so good for the country as manufacturing gets offshored and wages fall.   N.B.  Not being an economist, my simple minded economic model is that a growing economy and a good place to live has an increase in real wages- all else is fluff.  I can't stand this nonsense that we have to depress our wages to compete with places like China- that just means we're not being competitive in the innovation arena.  And I'd rather pay more money for stuff and pay higher taxes if my income is increasing more than inflation.  If that's happening- my standard of living is going up- and that's what I want.  (And if my income is going up- so should everybody elses.)
2)  We drive stupid vehicles.  Sorry, but there's no good reason for a single person to be barreling down the road in an SUV or empty pickup truck.  As work vehicles they make a lot of sense.  As single person commuting vehicles- they don't.  Higher gas prices have clearly changed our car buying taste- and for the better.  Better use of resources, increased R + D, reduced fuel costs and emissions.
3)  Houses are just as silly.  Our cheap energy prices have helped enable a housing boom in idiotic McMansions.  We don't need or even benefit from living in such large houses and even with more efficient air conditioners and heating systems- total energy use continues to climb per head.  Plus, these houses are constructed in such a silly fashion that in tough economic times- they can't be subdivided into things like duplexes- they've got to be knocked down.  And the construction industry has the highest ratio of morons/dollar of any industry I've ever seen!  Nowhere else can a moron makes six or seven figures- and a greedy, short sighted moron at that!  We just had a new kitchen put in- and I had to listen to the contractor whine about it incessantly.  The answer was simple- follow the plans drawn by the architect- not substitute stuff that wasn't spec'd.  This contractor makes good money- I'd love to have his income- and he's poorly educated and a lousy businessman.  He'd have made more money if he'd done the job right in the first place.  What kills me is that I've gathered that this experience is actually better than most!
4)  If people actually had to pay more for energy- maybe they'd be bit more careful with some of their other purchases.  Essentially- we spend too much money on housing.  If we spent less money on housing- proportionately, we'd spend more money on energy- and I'm not sure that's so terrible.  We really need to reward smarter people with better education rather than morons- otherwise getting an education makes no sense.


Sam