A New Democrat President

A new tax is being bantered about.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood told the AP.

"We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled," the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said in the AP interview.

LaHood spokeswoman Lori Irving said Friday that the secretary was speaking of the idea only in general terms, not as something being implemented as administration policy.

In fairness, Obama did reject the idea. For now.

But for arguments sake, what if he didn't? For starters, this was being talked about in lieu of the gas tax at the pump. It would need either a GPS in every road worthy vehicle or a tax form on the odometer of your car. Long term plan would be the odometer tax form to be gradually phased out by the millage tax GPS (MTGPS).

Gas tax or a MTGPS, it is about as close to a wash as you can get. Except for semi trucks. If you bought something, anything from a store or market, it was brought there by a diesel truck. Diesel engines fair better than their gasoline counterparts with regards of millage vs horsepower. The truck owners would be the ones stuck with the short end of the stick regarding the millage. So the only thing going up in price would be the cost of . . . everything.

Taxes have been and always have been a ways to an end on helping to control a population of a country. With a GPS in every car tracking where ever it goes, it does give you a very real sense of Big Brother watching you.

Not to mention the fines and punishments for tampering with the MTGPS and the new set of laws that will go along with that. As well as the slight increase in cost in the car itself to pay for the MTGPS.