As IF Times

link Obama floats plan to tax cars by the mile – The Hills Floor Action.

I don’t know the veracity of this story, but if true, it would open up vast new horizons of revenue for governments.    Many eco-nazis would be pleased to see this new method of taxation implemented because in their minds, this saves the planet.    Never able to project the consequences of their actions beyond their juvenile ideals, if this plan is implemented, these greenies would in fact preside over the total downtick of civilization.   

This statement is hardly hyperbole since if people stopped to think of it, the entire foundation of civilization rests on the ability for man to transport goods over far distances.   The world would be reduced to unconnected villages of tribal influence if the ability of transportation of goods and movement of people were curtailed by prohibitive costs.   Proponents of the ‘less cars is more’ viewpoint would rather society revert back to greener modes of transportation.  Horses and donkeys perhaps. 

As is the case with most taxes, the supposed beneficiaries, the poor, will suffer the most.  People with means will be able to pay the tax and businesses will simply pass on the tax to the consumer.  Imagine the circumstance of a laborer who has to commute long distances to his job.  More of a tax on the miles he drives will either disqualify him from taking the job, or else wages will have to go up to offset the additional transportation cost.  If the wages go up, the cost of goods produced by his employer goes up, which is subsequently passed on the consumer.  The consumer either reduces his consumption, or shops elsewhere.   Very simplistically, this is how Wal Mart and other big box stores came into existence.  They were able to exploit both cheap sourcing and manageable transportation costs.  If a per mile tax were imposed, the impact will not only be on the consumer, but also on Wal Mart’s ability to offer inexpensive goods.  Net result, prices go up.

For some reason, government mindsets over the past few generations have focused on milking the populace rather than encourage their productivity.  The momentum of innovation and progress, hallmarks of an advancing civilization have been attacked and perhaps even stopped by the combinations of frivolous lawsuits, unreasonable regulation and red tape and of course by short sighted taxation.  This is analogous to cutting off parts of a steamboat to fuel the engines as the vessel slows down.  Onerous taxation is cannibalizing western society in the same way.

I suggest a far more efficient tax be levied instead.  How about a tax on politicians by the words they utter?  If they are caught uttering outright fibs, then the tax triples.  Al Gore could be the national benefactor, finally doing something useful for the nation.   In fact, with the kind of non sensical rhetoric being spewed daily by the present administration,  any budget deficits could be paid off within a generation.