I hate being in a rut...

Ok, terrible pun in the title... still better than Bangles lyrics, though.

The rut I am referring to is a "road usage tax" and one has been implemented in Oregon just last week.  On the promise that, once it is tested and vetted by "volunteers" across the great state of Oregon, the RUT will reduce (but not eliminate) the Oregon state gasoline tax as the primary revenue source for road and bridge upkeep.

Well, we all know how often a "tax" is ever reduced (let alone eliminated, case in point: PA's gaming revenue was supposed to eliminate retired state citizens' need to pay property taxes... yet every single person in PA is STILL paying property tax, 8 years after gaming has been established).  We aren't looking at a PA RUT... yet, but I'm sure this is going to be the latest rage in state revenue grabs... with cars becoming more and more efficient, and people driving less and less due to the $3.60+ price of gas over the last year, what can you expect?  Gasoline revenues are a public statistic in all 50 states, so its easy to see that the national average for gasoline consumption is down 6% over the last 3 years... which I assume means a 6% decrease in gasoline tax revenues, which means 6% less in monies for the repair, upkeep and maintenance of our roads, highways and interstates.  Add that to the $55 billion the nation is short in infrastructure expense already, and yes, I do see the states jumping all over this.

I have a 114 mile daily commute... that's 27,360 miles annually just for my job.  Add to that the running to and from town, schools, colleges, stores and my wife's miles (call in another 12,000 even) and I'm looking at roughly 40k a year... and the national "average" of miles driven annually is 18,000???  This is going to be a game changer for me.  At more than twice the national average in miles (who came up with that average, by the way?), what is my bill going to be?

More importantly, I am REALLY not okay with the Government (state or federal) putting a GPS tracker in my car (which is how Oregon is doing things).  Not only will they have data on how far I drive, but also how fast, what my destinations are, and when I am travelling.  Aren't detailed records and recordings of my phone calls, texts and emails for the last 12 years enough?  When is the info grab that this government is jumping into with both feet going to end?

Do I need to fear sounding like the "Tinfoil Hat Brigade" commander if I say that when I imagine what is at the bottom of THIS slippery slope, it keeps me awake at night?  Because it really does...