Letters to the editor for Dec. 6

State government v. the will of the people

Frankly, I’m flabbergasted. An initiative is brought forward, signed and submitted according to the law, and lands a spot on the ballot. No questions, all legit and it goes to the voters for a decision: yea or nay.

It is easily decided yea. The will of the people is that we will pay $30 for our car tabs.

Since when has it ever been said that just because the legislators don’t like it, they can fight the will of the people and try to reverse our decision?

I find this behavior childish and unbelievable! The facts that this is actually being challenged in court, using the same public’s money who are being challenged by those rogue legislators to combat our decision is tantamount to treason by those lawmakers.

Why aren’t the media ridiculing these lawmakers rather than providing them a platform to publicize their whining? Why is this not being slapped down? Why did no one question the legitimacy of the initiative before it ever was put up to vote rather than wait and find out it gets passed and then whine?!

We must replace these lawmakers.

Is per-mile road tax a good thing?

I have some issue-questions with the possible conversion from a per-gallon state gas tax at 49.5 cents a gallon to a 2.4-cents-per-mile road use tax.

A couple of examples of what will change depending on what type of vehicle you drive. These calculations are based upon 15,000 miles annually, 49.5-cents-per-gallon state gas tax, and a 2.4-cent-per-mile use fee:

A Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck weighing 5,680 pounds at EPA 14 mpg would pay $530 in present-day gas taxes compared to $360 in usage fees. A Toyota Prius, 3,220 pounds at EPA 46 mpg would pay $161 in gas taxes versus $360 in usage fees.

The truck, given its extra weight, would cause more wear on roads than the Prius. The Prius driver’s tax would nearly double under the usage fee if implemented.

A $250,000 Lamborghini Aventador, at 11 mpg, would be $676 in current taxes versus $360 under the usage tax. A vehicle getting 20 mpg would be about the break-even point where your annual fee would be about $360 annually either way.

Given that it will at least appear in the mind of the consumer that the price of gas will drop nearly 50 cents at the pump, would this encourage more people to buy less environmentally friendly vehicles? Would this also be another regressive tax for poorer people who might drive smaller, less-expensive cars?

I could go on but let’s just think about it for now. Thanks.