Government Motors Revealed
By Robert FaragoOctober 29, 2009
The Wall Street Journal rips the veil off of General Motor’s true identity, revealing Government Motors in all its ignominious glory [sic]. The piece lists numerous examples of political interference with the automaker’s business, each worse than the one before. “Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota persuaded GM to rescind a closure order for a large dealership in Bloomington, Minn. In Tucson, Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords did the same for Don Mackey, owner of a longstanding Cadillac dealership with 80 employees. Rep. Giffords argues it made sense, even for GM, to keep the Mackey dealership, which sold 750 cars last year. ‘All I did was to help get GM to focus on his case,’ she says.” So that’s alright then? In America, politicians own you! “Lawmakers say it’s their obligation to guard the government’s investments, ensure that bailed-out firms are working in the country’s interests and protect their constituents.” Swallow blood pressure meds, continue . . .
Posted in News Blog | Taxes | 21 comments 
Taxes Subsidize 6.9m Mass Transit Riders; Most Poor People Drive to Work
By The NewspaperOctober 29, 2009
Despite the billions in federal and state taxpayer dollars poured into mass transit programs, only 6,908,323 working Americans take advantage of the subsidized service, according to US Census Bureau data released yesterday. The agency’s American Community Survey, a questionnaire mailed to three million households, found that 121,248,284 workers over the age of 16 regularly commuted to work by personal automobile or carpool last year. Despite the comparatively small number served by buses, subways and rail, the Obama Administration has made expanding mass transit a top priority. “President Obama’s vision of robust, high-speed rail service offers Americans the kind of travel options that throughout our history have contributed to economic growth and enhanced quality of life,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in April. “We simply can’t build the economy of the future on the transportation networks of the past.”
Posted in News Blog | Taxes | 35 comments
Feds Study $4.8 Billion Mileage Tax
By The NewspaperOctober 28, 2009
Officials are looking to convince residents in the Washington, DC metropolitan region that converting even local streets into toll roads would be good for them. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board last Wednesday voted to seek federal gas tax funds to bankroll a $400,000 study on how best to sell the public on a controversial per-mile tax proposal that would raise up to $4.8 billion in new revenue.
Posted in News Blog | Taxes | 24 comments
UK: London Mayor Backtracks on Congestion Tax
By The NewspaperOctober 20, 2009
London, England Mayor Boris Johnson is retreating from his campaign pledge to end the city’s “punishment of motorists.” Johnson’s predecessor, Ken Livingstone, lost his re-election in large measure because Johnson pledged to scale back the £8 (US $13) fee imposed on motorists entering the downtown area. Johnson announced Friday that he will boost the tax to £10 (US $16.40) to shore up Transport for London’s mass transit budget. “The proposed increase in the charge will ensure that the system remains effective in controlling traffic levels in central London, and the revenue will also help us fund the vital improvements to London’s transport network that all Londoners want to see,” Johnson said in a statement.
Posted in Crime & Punishment | News Blog | Taxes | UK | 11 comments
Pennsylvania: I-80 Tolling Would Cost Jobs
By The NewspaperOctober 16, 2009
A recently released study concludes that Pennsylvania’s plan to toll Interstate 80 would burden taxpayers and potentially cost thousands of jobs. Grove City College economics Professor Tracy C. Miller’s analysis extended beyond the simple issue of how much money such tolling would raise for government coffers and, instead, attempted to quantify the effect of increased transportation costs on local businesses and residents. I-80 runs 311 miles across the state, serving as a vital commercial link between New York and Chicago. Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell (D) has been promoting the tolling effort in the hopes of generating $405 million in new revenue. Rendell and others refer to the toll as a “user fee,” but Miller disagreed with this characterization. “It is better understood as a tax or tariff, since much of the revenue will be used for purposes other than maintaining and improving Interstate 80 and since vehicles that use Interstate 80 already pay for using it via fuel taxes and other taxes,” Miller wrote.
Posted in News Blog | Taxes | 40 comments
Enterprise Rent-A-Car CEO Almost Calls for Higher Gas Prices
By Robert FaragoOctober 16, 2009
Enterprise Rent-A-Car CEO must have some German politician in him somewhere (not literally, of course). Speaking with Bloomberg, Andrew Taylor’s message comes through loud and clear: Ve must have order! How can you dumkopfs expect our nationalized manufacturers to build cars that save the planet without high gas prices! And so the reporter asks the obvious question (it’s what reporters do best): should we raise the gas tax? Check out Taylor’s eyebrow work at 1:23, and his subsequent journey into the bowels of Wiggles World. The CEO didn’t see that one coming? It gets better. When asked if American cars are any good (2:18), Taylor lauds Ford, Chrysler and “even” GM. With friends like that . . . Or is it a good thing that Enterprise fancies itself Detroit’s “petri dish,” looking to put the Volt into immediate rental service? We report, you deride.
Posted in Green | News Blog | Quality | Sales | Taxes | 14 comments
UK Government: Per Mile Tax Would Solve Global Warming
By The NewspaperOctober 12, 2009
A UK government group has just released a proposal that would impose a per-mile tax on motorists to rescue the planet from an imagined catastrophe. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), a body established by the UK Parliament to advise the government on environmental issues, has set a target of a two-percent annual reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. CO2 is a naturally occurring gas that is essential to human life. The committee believes it can reach its goal by imposing massive new taxes on drivers that will reduce demand for driving which, in turn, would reduce carbon dioxide output.
Posted in Government | Green | News Blog | Taxes | UK | 28 comments
DOT Can’t Spend Stimulus Money Fast Enough. Literally.
By Robert FaragoOctober 2, 2009
When President Obama championed the federal stimulus bill, transportation and infrastructure projects accounted for a relatively small chunk of the total tab ($787 billion). BUT the Powers That Be hyped it hard; the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) piece of the pie was going to generate more than half of the 3.5 million jobs the Obama administration promised to create or save (don’t get picky). ProPublica’s crack investigative squad now reports that the DOT is having a little trouble shoveling the spade-ready jobs out the proverbial door. “Of the $48 billion in transportation stimulus funds, so far DOT has paid out only $3.4 billion, or 7 percent of the total,” according to Sunshine State Rep. John Mica, the top ranking Republican on the House transportation committee. DOT spokeswoman Jill Zuckman had an answer for that one. “The amount of money spent on highways isn’t as important as the amount of money that’s been approved, which has reached $19.4 billion.” Do people really think like that? Holy shit. It gets worse . . .
Posted in High Finance | News Blog | Taxes | 15 comments
Tax Break Keeps Hummer HQ In Detroit
By Edward NiedermeyerSeptember 23, 2009
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has announced a ten-year, $20.6m tax break package that will keep the headquarters of Hummer in Detroit after the brand is sold to Chinese firm Sichuan Tenzhong. The Detroit News reports that Hummer will employ 100 workers at its headquarters post-sale, and plans to invest $9.4m over the next five years and hire an additional 200 employees. Negotiations between GM and Sichuan Tenzhong are ongoing. In other Hummer news, a study in the Journal of Consumer Research [via Science Daily] seeks to understand the mentality of the now-rare Hummer driver. And it turns out that, at least in the minds of Hummer drivers, giant SUVs are patriotic.
Posted in News Blog | Taxes | 16 comments
Lobbyists Battle for Handouts in Federal Transportation Bill
By The NewspaperSeptember 23, 2009
As Congress works on extending the authorization for transportation programs in the current session, thousands of lobbyists are investing millions in political donations and billable hours in the hopes of receiving a big payout in public dollars. The Center for Public Integrity, a left-wing watchdog group, last week released the results of an exhaustive examination of the financial ties between transportation lobbyists and lawmakers. In the first half of this year alone, 2100 lobbyists spent $45 million on influencing lawmakers who are busy dividing up an estimated $500 billion in funding (view lobbying map). “Over the past two decades, this is the way federal transportation policy has largely been made in America — by a quasi-private club of interest groups and local governments carving out something for everyone, creating a nationwide patchwork of funded bypasses, interchanges, bridges, and rail lines with no overarching philosophy behind it,” Center staff writer Matthew Lewis explained.
Posted in News Blog | Taxes | 6 comments
POWERED