tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26744483.post6795803038145127896..comments2023-12-30T19:42:59.088-08:00Comments on Adventures in Fuel Economy, Energy Use, Physics, and Life: Senators Grill Refiners Over High Prices Amid Oil Boom - BloombergKing of the Roadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841601144107400103noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26744483.post-33301081707281150062013-07-30T12:24:40.243-07:002013-07-30T12:24:40.243-07:00Yes, a tax based on percentage would be more effec...Yes, a tax based on percentage would be more effective in one way but would also encourage policies that lead to higher prices.<br /><br />There are many plans being floated to tax vehicles by miles driven to mitigate the revenue lost to EVs and other high mileage vehicles. There are, of course, many pitfalls to such policy proposals. Many, including I, wouldn't want a black box in my car logging my miles autonomously for transmission to a government agency. This could be overcome by having the odometer ready at registration renewal but there are problems there as well.<br /><br />Philosophically the impact of such vehicles in comparison to the real culprits in highway maintenance requirements, heavy trucks. That said, high mileage vehicles certainly make use of new facilities built with gasoline tax funds and so some sort of scale based on impact to existing facilities and potential use of new facilities would be acceptable to me (I get 51 m.p.g. in my hybrid).<br /><br />Having EVs pay nothing is not going to work in the long run, though I don't have a problem with it now since the <a href="http://hamiltonianfunction.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-are-we-doing-on-ev-adoption.html" rel="nofollow">numbers are so low</a> and I support encouraging their adoption.King of the Roadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06841601144107400103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26744483.post-40150721195071160252013-07-29T21:40:55.122-07:002013-07-29T21:40:55.122-07:00The problem with the current federal gas tax is th...The problem with the current federal gas tax is that it's not a percentage of what you pay at the pump; it's a fixed amount: 18.4 cents per gallon. So, higher gas prices do not translate into higher revenue for maintaining the roads. The increased popularity of EV's and fuel efficient vehicles does not help with the revenue either. So, I'm with you if you happen to become the king! Arezoonoreply@blogger.com