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The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

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Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

Whitmer proposes raising gas taxes 45 cents to pay for roads.

This was one of the few ways a bipartisan commission proposed getting the money to fix the roads. I am surprised she went this route. She knows Republicans won't vote for it, gas taxes are incredibly unfavorable (residents voted one down a few years ago, legislature passed it with a workaround, then conveniently the funds got reallocated somewhere else that wasn't road related, yay GOP!), and now her face is the one on the plan.

In my perfect world, we would just go to a pay-by-plate toll like Toronto.
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

Spartanforlife4 said:
...In my perfect world, we would just go to a pay-by-plate toll like Toronto.
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I've posted a few times about toll roads on this forum. There isn't enough volume of traffic to offset the cost of implementing a state wide toll system, nor is there likely enough traffic volume to even toll I-94. And without massive overhaul of national legislation, toll roads are ineligible to receive funding from state or federal gas taxes. So any stretch of highway turned into toll roads in Michigan would instantly be ineligible from receiving the funding you want to raise on them.
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

aparch said:
I've posted a few times about toll roads on this forum. There isn't enough volume of traffic to offset the cost of implementing a state wide toll system, nor is there likely enough traffic volume to even toll I-94. And without massive overhaul of national legislation, toll roads are ineligible to receive funding from state or federal gas taxes. So any stretch of highway turned into toll roads in Michigan would instantly be ineligible from receiving the funding you want to raise on them.
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That's unfortunate. I wish their system would at least catch on in other areas like Chicago.

For the proposed tax itself, I wouldn't mind it. I have room in the budget and just want something to be done. Unfortunately, others don't have my financial situation and an even larger group of people think any rise in any tax means Stalin has resurrected.
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

Toll roads can rot in hell.

Roads should be funded like every single other critical infrastructure/service government provides. We shouldn’t need use taxes on everything. I’d be for toll roads if they charged you based on income and could NOT be sold or leased by private companies.
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

Spartanforlife4 said:
That's unfortunate. I wish their system would at least catch on in other areas like Chicago.

For the proposed tax itself, I wouldn't mind it. I have room in the budget and just want something to be done. Unfortunately, others don't have my financial situation and an even larger group of people think any rise in any tax means Stalin has resurrected.
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Illinois *kinda* has a similar setup, it's just that you either need to get an I-Pass transponder (which is EZ Pass compatible so it's good in Indiana, Ohio, and throughout the East/Northeast) or remember which tollbooth you went through and use the online system. The I-Pass system *will* snap a photo of the license plate if you do not have a transponder, it's just used to mail out a violation notice which is generally the toll plus a fine for non-payment of said toll.

The open road tolling in Chicagoland is ah-maz-ing, and makes it much easier to get around without looking for a roll of quarters in your console.


Be thankful that it's just talk of a gas-tax increase. There was an idea floated around here in Illinois which would have been a pilot project to bill drivers by their mileage by installing an on-board GPS reader in the data port of their car (the OBD2 port) like some insurance companies offer. I think it's a horsesh** idea and refuse to put one of those tattle-tales in my car. I'd much rather they just increase the registration fee or yearly license renewal (it's cheaper to get personalized plates in Illinois than it is for some vehicles to get standard plates in Michigan).


*edit* As for the Illinois Tollway, the traffic volume on I-294 is what funds the majority of the rest of the Tollway network. A lot of the toll roads are money losers, even in Chicago.
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

I firmly believe toll roads are an abdication of government’s responsibility to provide and maintain critical infrastructure. The toll is just a clever way the rich have found to not pay for their fair share.
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

Deutsche Gopher Fan said:
Ooh! So brave, Susan. How long til she back tracks and grandstands for an hour yammering about it?

“BREAKING: Sen. Susan Collins has become the first Republican senator to announce her opposition to President Trump's controversial nominee for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Chad Readler, ahead of a vote this week.”
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Tomorrow:

Susan Collins said:
I spoke with Mr. Readler over the phone and received his personal assurance that he wouldn't allow his politics to interfere with nor unjustly sway any future healthcare decisions that may come before the Sixth Circuit. Therefore, I now intend to vote in favor of his appointment.
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Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

dxmnkd316 said:
Toll roads can rot in hell.

Roads should be funded like every single other critical infrastructure/service government provides. We shouldn’t need use taxes on everything. I’d be for toll roads if they charged you based on income and could NOT be sold or leased by private companies.
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mookie wants to fund homeland and defense via a use tax. us property should be taxed at 2 or 3%. whomever owns (company, citizen, foreign national, federal or state entity, whatever) it. defending the country after all, so it is defending YOU and YOUR interests!! keep us safe. see something, say something :D
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

mookie1995 said:
mookie wants to fund homeland and defense via a use tax. us property should be taxed at 2 or 3%. whomever owns (company, citizen, foreign national, federal or state entity, whatever) it. defending the country after all, so it is defending YOU and YOUR interests!! keep us safe. see something, say something :D
Click to expand...

I see it's time for this again.
 
Re: The States: At Least Michigan is Better Than Indiana

Oh dear god I just about spit out my lunch on this line “I put a quarter in the siren”

Edit: I’m literally crying from laughing so hard. That was brilliant.
 
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