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www.youtube.com/bestbuy - Musician and Best Buy employee, Keith Parsons, rocks his Best Buy holiday campaign audition.
135 Comments
- zacharytelschow, on 07/01/2009, -1/+36Any tracking device placed in my car by my government will be removed.
- ObamaFTL, on 07/01/2009, -2/+34This has little to do with taxes and a whole lot to do with privacy, or lack there of. In order to accomplish this, the government would have to install a tracking device in every car currently on the road. They would know where you are and how you got there at all times. This is a clear violation of a person's right to privacy. We need to make a stand on this, DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO INSTALL THESE DEVICES!
- inboxnews, on 07/01/2009, -9/+41More taxes. Great.
- treehugger87, on 07/01/2009, -4/+36This seems like a terrible idea all around. So I'll pay the same while getting 50MPG in my Prius as the guy next to me getting 8MPG in his Hummer?
This sounds like a Bush era recommendation. The oil companies win because the price of gas will go "down" even while they charge more per gallon. American car companies win because fuel efficiency will have no impact on buying decisions. Big Brother government wins because we will all be required to be trackable by some government agency.
Sounds from the comments above like the liberals and the conservatives are of one mind in seeing this as a terrible idea. - Robart, on 07/01/2009, -9/+34Is it 1984?
"What a great idea!" says Mr. Lemming. "Is that a cliff ahead?" - zacharytelschow, on 07/01/2009, -5/+29If you honestly believe they'll replace one tax with another instead of trying to institute both, you have my most sincere sympathies. This is not the way our government works.
- existing, on 07/01/2009, -6/+30I guess the plan of forcing the public to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles and driving less worked a little too well; so much for saving any money, guys. Then, there's the added attraction of TPTB knowing exactly where we go - and where we are.
As Atkinson said, if they're 'committed to the system', then it's a 'no-brainer'. They're committed to the system, alright - the 'system' of sticking it in and breaking it off. - inactive, on 07/01/2009, -4/+26The price of everything that is transported by truck is going to go through the roof.
- govsucks, on 07/01/2009, -1/+22Or maybe hacked to make them think I'm traveling zero miles per hour at an altitude of 70k feet.
- govsucks, on 07/01/2009, -1/+18I run my small business out of my home. I might drive 5 to 10 miles a week. But as Zach said, government isn't putting anything in my car....I'm done with government and at this point I have NO respect for our government.
The good news is technology will NEVER allow them to do this to people. /s - enoxard, on 07/01/2009, -5/+22great idea, but we already have them.. theyre called toll roads, theyre private, and theyre great!
the government should just sell our roads to private companies who then collect revenue, make repairs, and own the roads.
for our part, gas tax and any other tax claimed to be used for highway funding can go back into the pockets of the people. roads that dont get used go away or cost an arm and a leg to the few who use them.
whats next, people paying for public education on a per use basis and a dramatic reduction in property tax? oh well, one can dream.
free markets FTW! - ChronicColonic, on 07/01/2009, -0/+17We already have fuel tax and license tax, tag tax, sales tax, excise tax on tires, plus others I am sure I am missing....roads have been getting repaired.
Why do we need a different or another tax? - inboxnews, on 07/01/2009, -2/+18Yes, we all lose with this one.
- bbjohnnyt, on 07/01/2009, -1/+16We'll be paying more for gas because the oil companies know that Americans are used to paying a certain price for gas. Because they know we won't notice or complain, they are not going to lower the price by the full 18.4 cents per gallon (the current Fed tax rate) but are going to pocket the money they no longer need to give to the gov't. So, we'll be paying effectively double, once to the oil companies and once to the gov't in a separate tax bill.
And if you figure in the potential impact of the insane cap and trade legislation (if it becomes law), we'll be paying more than triple. - osullibhean, on 07/01/2009, -2/+17The issue is not one tax replacing another, or a tax being instituted alongside another, but the potential of this to further exercise control that the government has no business exercising, and restricting freedoms that the government has no place restricting.
- inactive, on 07/01/2009, -1/+16This is utterly irrational.
- theNazz, on 07/01/2009, -1/+15Looks like GPS jamming is going to be a booming business in the coming years...
- jcaprario, on 07/01/2009, -1/+15Thanks for keeping track of my location Big Brother!
- bluto36, on 07/01/2009, -3/+17this has nothing to with replacing tax with another tax or fixing roads. this tax will require some way to track mileage traveled. that is the end game not decrease or increase tax, not fixing roads and bridges but keeping tabs of people and where they go.
- Christianptriot, on 07/01/2009, -4/+16On teh flip side, gas for your lawn mower will be cheaper......whoopie.
What if you drive an older car, like a 1967 VZXVZXV and refuse to have teh device placed on your car?!?! - jsmith39, on 07/02/2009, -1/+13..the road tax was the "best path forward"
"If you're committed to the system being improved then it was a no-brainer,"
translation: we can get more money from our population by taxing the miles they drive than we can by taxing the gasoline they purchase. As hybrids hit the roads and avg fuel efficiency goes up the government will be looking to recoup 'their losses'.
It's just one more example of the great many scams the government and its representatives pull to fleece us. - z0rk, on 07/01/2009, -2/+14This will be the end of free pizza delivery, no one making minimum wage is going to be able to afford to drive around all day.
- FauOz, on 07/02/2009, -0/+11The real issue is what are they spending the current road taxes you pay at the pump on? I bought fuel in NC and $1.12 was listed as tax of the $2.49 total per gallon. Then again are the tolls that are rampant in NE US.
Not all this money goes to maintenance or building and it also is being spent on unrelated items just like your Social Security Ponzi money. The worse is yet to come as many new taxes will be introduced to feed this monster that just will not cut spending the way we individuals have to. - zacharytelschow, on 07/01/2009, -1/+12"If you're committed to the system being improved then it was a no-brainer."
No brainer, indeed... - zacharytelschow, on 07/01/2009, -5/+16@ChronicColonic: You're forgetting one of the favorite liberal ways to argue: pretend that nothing is in place at present to address an issue. Whether you're talking about health care access, an opportunity to go to college, or transportation, liberals will begin all conversations with the presumption that there are currently no programs in place to address these issues so something must be done. Evidently now paying for roads is part of that list.
P.S. The fuel tax is levied at both the federal and state levels, as well as local in some cases (like here in Illinois), so to simply list it as "fuel tax" doesn't fully describe the level of pain inflicted at the pump. - flip2trip, on 07/01/2009, -2/+12It would appear that this commission is suffering from some type of delusion. People driving cars in 2020 pffft, you think the future government of this country is going to allow its citizens to own cars?
- borez, on 07/02/2009, -1/+11There talking about this in the UK too, trouble is they still want to keep the fuel tax on top, and you still have to pay an additional yearly road tax.
/absolutely sick of being raped by my government. - osullibhean, on 07/01/2009, -0/+10This has nothing whatsoever to do with fuel consumption, or road wear. It has everything to do with the unrequited urge of TPTB to control everything.
- NSResponder, on 07/02/2009, -0/+10Aside from the taxes and what this will cost, I have a bit of an issue with the government tracking where we go at all times.
-jcr - Ymeg, on 07/01/2009, -2/+12They want to "replace" to keep the revenue flowing. This obviously means that the former tax system is less than the proposed.
- emkaysmith, on 07/02/2009, -0/+9Here in Louisiana, the government is several BILLION dollars behind in road and bridge repair and replacement. Something like 30% of all the bridges in the state (large and small) are now rated as borderline unsafe. But the Legislature always finds some urgent program in their own districts that needs funding out of the supposedly dedicated gas tax fund. And every time this flim-flam is challenged in the courts, the legislators win. Then Jindal demands massive income tax cuts in the midst of a growing recession and the Legislature decides to use both the gas tax fund *and* the Emergency Rainy Day fund to make up the difference. Good luck the next time we have a serious hurricane, because there will be no funding for it. Good luck when another bridge collapses, because the insurance companies will point to the known deficiencies and lack of maintenance and refuse to cover claims.
But, hey -- lets increase the state subsidy to the New Orleans Saints! - Gandalff, on 07/01/2009, -2/+11Agreed
- SouthsideIrish, on 07/02/2009, -0/+9Hmm...most goods in the US travel by truck, so the cost of fuel will go up for trucking companies, they will have to pass that on to the stores who will have to raise the prices they charge on goods, so guess what? We pay for the gas we use, and we pay for the gas used by the trucking companies. Great!
The only law us Libertards believe in is the law of unattended consequences and this tax is going to be bad. - inboxnews, on 07/01/2009, -0/+9I love pizza.
- SQLDigger, on 07/01/2009, -0/+9Um, strictly going by the numbers you give, it would only be a little over 8 cents per mile. It's not 6 gallons per mile; it's one-sixth of a gallon per mile. And 1/6 of 50 cents is not 3 dollars.
- inactive, on 07/02/2009, -0/+9They may have said 'replaced' but historically that's not their track record. Either way 'added' or 'replaced', it will be higher taxes which basically means more taxes.
- thinkb4utype, on 07/02/2009, -1/+10This seems particularily unfair to those living in the western states where the distance between the next town may be 50 miles. I used to lived in Maryland, the airport was 15 miles away. In Arizona, it's 180 miles. A major hospital, 12 miles vs. 120 miles in AZ. There are lots of examples. Why should those in the west pay 10 times the tax of those in the east?
You may argue that those western roads need maintenance too, but the roads carry a fraction of the traffic that is around eastern areas, and it's the use that wears out the roads. - Ascus, on 07/02/2009, -0/+8What is wrong with the Odometer? Does the government need to know where I am at all times?
- Bloodwine, on 07/02/2009, -0/+8As someone who commutes 546 miles a week, I can already feel my wallet aching.
- zacharytelschow, on 07/01/2009, -3/+11Screw that. If I bought a new car I'd bust the thing out and attach it to my dog.
- bjones2004, on 07/02/2009, -1/+9Nothing like having my wallet raped by the government and them knowing exactly where I go all day. It's what we live in this great country for right?
- DarkShroud, on 07/02/2009, -1/+9In short Electric cars are almost here so we have to come up with a new way to tax them since the old way does not apply.
- inboxnews, on 07/01/2009, -1/+9Well it seems like the present govt is dead set against it, that's for sure.
- ChronicColonic, on 07/01/2009, -0/+7Sounds great on the surface, but supply and demand is what drives the cost of fuel. Putting a tax on gasoline will not 'fix' the price of it. When the fuel prices go up, the people that own gas stations will lose money if the price is fixed. Besides, there are already a few different taxes on gasoline anyway. We do not need another.
I am all for alternative fuels, but we need to have cheaper fuels as well...in a poor economy, adding more taxes will only hurt. - inboxnews, on 07/01/2009, -2/+9Vehicles also have a thing called an odometer. Have had for years. Why not use that to calculate the miles? No need to buy anything new.
And yes, I'm with you, Freedom FTW. - inactive, on 07/02/2009, -0/+7That's already true. The consumer ultimately pays for everything. So it would be replacing one broken system with another broken system. Sounds like a typical government plan.
- ptoomey, on 07/02/2009, -1/+8Except for the fact that the government would know exactly where you are and where you go at all times (well, where your car is anyway) because it will be tracked by a GPS system.
1984 was a typo. - osullibhean, on 07/01/2009, -0/+7And if you don't know where the heck you are, you can always give 'em a call!
- existing, on 07/02/2009, -0/+7Bingo.
- existing, on 07/02/2009, -0/+6Heavy trucks - commercial vehicles - already pay their fuel tax by the mile. Every mile driven in each individual state is tallied at the end of the month and each state is paid accordingly - see IFTA.
Which brings up another interesting point. Actually, this system is already in place, in regards to trucking. Many, if not most, trucks are already fitted with GPS for tracking purposes. From the company's standpoint, GPS makes perfect sense. Customers like the ability to track loads (especially time-sensitive ones), and it comes in handy when trying to locate stolen equipment (even trailers will have locaters). There's also a safety aspect for the drivers, in that if they're incapacitated (like a heart attack), and their truck has not moved for some time when it should have, they can be located immediately. Even with this, many drivers cannot stand the idea of being tracked - not because they're necessarily doing something they shouldn't - it's the principle of the thing; the loss of privacy. And I surely understand their sentiments. -
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