John Hood has been posting over on The Corner about how gas taxes are rapidly becoming a poor measure of road usage, thanks to high-mileage vehicles. He says GPS tracking may take its place.
Some readers say GPS is uneccesary because we could use odometer readings. Hood fears that presents a too-tempting beauracracy.
The second major objection is that using GPS technology to price road usage is a huge invitation to Big Brother to monitor everyone’s driving habits. I am nervous about the privacy implications, too, though I will point out that as I understand it, carrying a cellphone around gets you pretty far along to that troubling prospect, if Big Brother is so inclined. Still, if the high-tech solution is problematic on privacy grounds, I’d be open to some other solution to the problem of transportation finance, which is very real and inherent in any system based on taxing gas consumption.
Here’s what I just emailed to Hood:
Big Brother can get a rough idea of where your mobile phone is. But he doesn’t know how fast you’re going.
GPS tracking of cars would be such an egregious intrusion I can’t believe you’re taking it seriously. I take it seriously, but as a threat.
I fail to see the advantage to taxing differently based on time of day. That would imply the government knows better than I when I should be driving and that, somehow, pavement wears out faster at certain times of day. Taxes should be collected to fund the minimum and necessary functions of government. Any use of taxes to modify behavior is immoral. Which is why the left will love this idea.
High-tech isn’t the problem. An odometer that responds to a remote signal with the VIN and current miles would be easy to make, and cheaper than GPS. Then sensors get installed on all gas pumps (or 220V outlets for electric cars). Every time you gas up, Big Brother knows only how far you’ve driven, and where and when you gassed up. Then you can get a bill at whatever interval the government decides. An advantage to this system is that people will be aware, as you say, of how much they’re spending in transportation taxes.
Anybody see any downside to my idea that’s any worse than current fuel taxes?