If This Happens...

...I might look for jobs in Canada. This is such an incredibly stupid idea and what's worse is that a Republican seems to think that it's a good idea! Basically, President Obama's transportation secretary Ray LaHood thinks it's a good idea to start looking at shifting from a gasoline tax to pay for infrastructure projects to a VMT tax- a vehicle miles travelled tax. In other words, they'd tax you for the miles you travel rather than the gasoline you burn.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

First of all, we're taxed too damn much already. That maybe dangerously Republican of me to say, but really in an economic crisis, everyone- left and/or right can agree that more taxes are the last thing we need. It's a struggle just to pay the bills. I don't want to be taxed because I have to drive to work.

Second of all, the greatest thing about this country is that's its so damn big and there's so much to see. Taxing people for the miles they travel essentially means keeping people at home and having them never leave their hometowns or states. America, especially the Midwest is too provincial already. We need to be encouraging our young people and Americans in general to travel across this great country and THEY SHOULD NOT have to pay for the privilege. It should be their right as Americans. Next thing you know (and again, this will sound dangerously Republican) we'll have to have papers to travel from point A to point B and then we might as well just go for breadlines, Pravda and bad vodka.

On a more rational and less hysterical note (even though I think this idiotic plan sets a bad and entirely undemocratic precedent) we need people to be able to travel with ease. They SHOULD NOT have to pay for it- if they do, then families in the Midwest who want to go to places like DisneyLand or California might think twice about that if they have to pay per miles driven or even for a plane ticket. You see where I'm going with this? Travel should be as CHEAP as possible. Otherwise, people don't go to those tourist areas, don't bring money to those local economies and consequently, I think that adds up to 'bad for business.'

Downright stupid idea.