Taxing Mileage

It was never my intent to criticize leadership of any type through this blog, but I read an article in Newsmax recently and I have to comment on it.  Through the Department of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal government is looking to create the Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Office.  The purpose of this $300 million taxpayer expense will be to track the number of miles driven by Americans. 

Where is the outrage from those who criticized the Bush Administration repeatedly for the invasion of our individual right to privacy as that Administration dealt with the war on terrorism.  Through the mileage tax initiative, the Feds would track our every move and then we would pay for that invasion every time we went to fill up at the gas pump. 

My problem isn't the right to privacy issue, it is the attack on rural America.  Those of us in western Maryland live it every day.  The goal in Annapolis is to keep their playground in the mountains, green and pristine with little to nothing being done for economic development and growth in the region.  But I digress.  Rural America has to drive great distances in many cases for the simplest of chores, doctor visits, grocery shopping, trips to WalMart, visits to relatives, taking kids to college and the list goes on. In both Washington, DC, and Annapolis, Maryland, the voting blocks within the urban centers are critical to their re-election, but for the most part they walk to work and to shop, they take public transportation and don't drive as much.  However, they do sit in traffic.  Hopefully, Washington can add a pay-by-the- minute taxing component to the Surface Transportation Revenues Alternatives Office for city dwellers idling in traffic.