Be careful what you ask for. After years of nagging drivers to drive less, take public transport, and drive more efficient cars (and mandating more efficient cars), people aren't buying as much gas. And that means gas tax revenue is down. Washington State particularly has a problem, as the Seattle Times reports:
To the list of woes facing a cash-strapped state government, now add fuel efficiency.
In Washington, motorists pay 37.5 cents on each gallon of gas. The money generates the bulk of revenue needed to build and maintain state highways, and it's a significant source of money for county road projects as well.
Here's the problem: Motorists require much less gas than they used to.
Automobiles are more fuel-efficient, people are driving less and, increasingly, they are driving automobiles that aren't powered by petroleum at all.
This trend could result in a $3.8 billion shortfall by the year 2025.
So what's the solution? More taxes, of course:
As one possible long-term solution, the JTC's report recommends tying the gas tax to the Consumer Price Index. Hammond said indexing the gas tax could help revenue keep pace with demand for major transportation improvements when the economy's growing, while contracting during hard times.
But that means, (like Washington State's minimum wage that is tied to inflation) the gas tax will just keep going up and up except for those rare years like this year when inflation is negative.
Or they could start taxing you by the mile driven, as some states have proposed. But those have huge potential for letting the government know not only how much you drive by where and how you drive.
But in some way government will get their money. The only question is, how much and how much loss of privacy will it cost you.
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