Democrats’ New Car Tax: 20%!!!
January 15th, 2008We all know only * those rich devils * drive cars.
And Obama and Hillary keep trying to out-promise each other that they’re going to increase taxes on * rich devils *.
Looks like they already did it.
This article from Investor’s Business Daily does the math and concludes that the new “fuel efficiency” mandates from Washington are going to increase the cost of a car by 20% - essentially a new tax from Washington.
When all costs are factored in, other estimates put the total cost at about $18 billion a year.
Fine, say the populist politicians. Stick it to the automakers. But do they really think Ford and GM will pick up the tab? Of course not. It’ll be you, as GM’s Lutz made clear in comments Sunday.
“We’ve done even more research,” Lutz said, “and (the cost per car of new CAFE standards is) going to be in the range of $4,000 to $10,000, with an average of about $6,000.”
Let’s put that in perspective. The average cost of an automobile in 2006 was $27,958, according to the Comerica Automotive Affordability Index. So our new energy bill is, in effect, going to be a 21.4% tax hike on the current car prices.
I think I’ll just hang onto my older, higher pollution car longer than I first planned.
Did someone say “unintended consequences”?
January 15th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Car A Cost $27,000 and gets 20 MPG
Car B Cost $33,000 and gets 35 mpg (most likely it would have to be lighter in weight with less value to the customer)
Average New Car Loan is 9% (interest cost on $6000 in the 1st year is around $500) and it is a 5 year loan
Price of Gas is $3.00 per gallon.
Driver drives 10,000 miles per year.
I think it would take something like 35 years for the driver to get his money back from the MPG savings vs. the increase in the cost of the card.
How much would gas have to go up for the driver to break even over 5 years? I think it is around $8.
Are any of these numbers close?
Too bad, we seem to going to play the “dumb” hyped green cards instead of playing smart green cards.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Leave it to the DEMs to raise sales taxes on cars and raise them on gasoline simultaneously. With Crozine of New Jersey rasing toll fees, pretty soon they will fulfill thweir true wish, that being to curtail travel for any but the rich!
January 19th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Lee,
Did someone raise the gas tax? Last time I heard the federal government raised the gasoline tax was during the, gulp, Regan administration!
Corzine is trying to raise revenue to pay for a life style the people of New Jersey have adopted. If they don’t like it, they can keep borrowing money -wait they can’t, the bond companies won’t underwrite them anymore as they are tapped out- or cut back on their spending. Not likely. At least Corzine is trying to keep the toll roads in the public hands instead of selling them to foreign countries (like Indiana and Texas has done), who collect all the fees and give some back to the state.
As for CAFE standards, I ask you, why should the government care what the MPG of a vehicle is? Is their some strategic link between CAFE and US/geopolitical engagement?
January 19th, 2008 at 6:26 am
Do members of the U.S Congress know anything at all about how technology innovations work? Those morons actually think it can be legislated!
January 19th, 2008 at 7:50 am
The Democrats believe in magic wand politics. Just wave the magic wand and impossible things happen - like greater fuel efficiency at no cost. If we were serious about extracting the maximum energy from each drop of gasoline, we would eliminate pollution controls on new cars. The adverse effects on the environment would probably be small, since auto makers would still need to burn the fuel as completely and efficiently as they could, but mileage would go up slightly.
January 19th, 2008 at 9:32 am
This is an American issue. Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame. Let me explain:
There was a time in American (certainly before WWII, but probably longer ago than that) when people knew they had to make or break their own lives. You want a better car? Work harder, learn more and apply yourself and you can get one. Nobody remotely thought that a “Government” could or would manipulate such a system (in fact, the vast majority would not even except welfare). During this period of time, a world record of 150 years or so, America became the world leader in technology, power, and leadership. We were so good an example that people flocked here to be a part of it. The honest labor of oppressed people pulling individually for a concept and way-of-life they believed in was the great elixer that changed a world. Freedom works.
Then came FDR. Granted, he may have had a kind heart and a good objective, but so did Hitler, Castro, and Ghengis Khan, in their own way. Nevertheless, he opened the socialism pot with a small crack. “Only a small tax and only on the richest of Americans” or, “let the Government put a chicken in your pot because you cannot do it through no fault of your own”. Like a bird in a Microwave field, this sure felt good. We have a Government that cares. Now, just as the bird finally explodes from within if it stays in the “good-feeling” microwave field, the Government has the crack to stuff the crowbar in and pile on the “good times”.
Now, the problem. How do you fund this? Taxes only work to a degree, then they detract from production. Borrowing is a very good thing if you can get someone to lend you money….then comes the pay-off time. Here was the plan devised by each party in succession, not wanting to be out-promised by the other:
1. Tell the people you are taxing the rich.
2. Tell the rich you will tax them if they do not contribute to your campaign.
3. Tax the poor under the guise of a “social security” blanket.
4. Return the rich taxes to them through complicated tax laws only their lawyers can understand and that are not available to the common man (like the Roosevelt and Kennedy trusts, for instance).
5. Withold tax money from the poor people each paycheck and design the system so they will receive a “refund” at tax time (you feel good with this, right?).
6. Borrow the money you need that you cannot receive from a maximum tax (that’s right, people will only cough a limited amount of taxes, no matter what the law says….and we are at the maximum now).
7. Promulgate this system until the birds (citizens) explode from too many good-feeling microwaves (Government “help”).
So far, it has worked, but they now need more to continue to buy your votes. Entitlements chew up more than 70% of the Federal budget. These are simply paying off promises of dead members of Congress so the live ones can promise more. Boy have we gotten used to them in the last 60 years, haven’t we? Are you feeling the microwaves now?
Well, it is pouring in now. Here are the next steps:
1. Health Insurance (not health care) will be promised to everyone. Imagine the campaign contributions available from the health care and drug companies.
2. We will institute a “fair tax” system through a national sales tax to replace the Federal Income Tax (though the part of replacing will be forgotten in the hoopla). You have probably forgot one of the last things Alan Greenspan said about this: A national sales tax is a good idea, but we will need a “little” of both (national sales tax and income tax). See another crack opening?
3. This one is for Nevada in return for their lack of cooperation in the Spent Nuclear Fuel issue: A national tax on gambling revenues. After all, that is the last vice left untaxed or unregulated on a national level.
Remember, spending by the Government is the most direct evidence of how much they control us and BOTH PARTIES have endorsed federal government increases consistently, whether they have controlled Congress or the White House.
If we remember our lesson with Social Security, it is this: no matter how much is collected, none will be available. That is the case now as evidenced by the high percentage of “entitlement” spending in each succeeding budget. Care to gamble on national health insurance anyone? Haven’t you had enough with medicare and medicaid (both broke also)?
So, I hope you had a good time at the Caucuses. I hope you took back your bag of promises and supported the one candidate that tickled your funny bone with the most microwaves. Take your promises and run. Just remember this:
YOUR CHILDREN WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE TO PAY FOR THESE EXCESSES.
I find this difficult to live with, but, apparently, I am in a vast minority. 20% tax on cars? Why not, at least then only rich people will have cars and the highways will be far easier to drive on. Think about it.
January 19th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Sooner than later we will have to completely rethink our strategy on energy - not just for cars. Maybe then we will get serious about nuclear energy instead of coal and gas fired generating stations. Maybe Nevada can be the repository for recycling nuclear waste like they do in France instead of burying it in a hole. Maybe we can recover some of our scientific leadership in these areas and make a positive impact on our economy and environment at the same time.
January 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Great comments by Steve. Yep, no hope stopping the greed for power and wealth. But, I have to disagree that the roads will be easier to drive on since only the rich will be able to afford to drive. All of us on bicycles and skate boards will be plugging up that rich traffic.
January 19th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Hawk, you are right on. The good news is that UNLV is leading the national research in spent fuel recycling. All we have to do is convince the “voting public” that this is a good idea. Good for the environment, good for the country (energy independence) and, nearest and dearest to my heart, good for Nevada (especially economically). Let’s keep the word out there and the education programs going. John Porter is leading the way, at least tentatively, with his trip to France to view their efforts in the nuclear business. Good comment.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
The solar energy plant at Nellis Air force cost $100 Million to build and it is saving Nellis about $1 Million per year in electricity costs.
This is another example of “Green Madness”
May 12th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I am always amused by the argument that the rich don’t pay their fair share of taxes. I have prepared tax returns for some high net worth individuals and my lord do they pay a lot in taxes. You look at it as a percentage of their income and as a dollar amount and it is staggering!
I recently had the experience of preparing an estate return and I was blown away by how much that person had to pay! The person paid around 40% of the fair value of their estate in a death tax. For those not familiar with how this works, here goes:
Someone works all their life to amass a fortune. Throughout that time, they pay income tax, FICA taxes and maybe some capital gains. The person dies, and because they were successful, they get penalized for that success. The estate must hire a valuation expert to come in and give a value to all their assets.
Now comes time to pay the tax. Most of the time the money is tied up in privately held company interests, or perhaps other nonliquid assets. The estate has to borrow the money, sometimes at rather high interest rates to pay the tax. Now, how fair is that?
If I had my way, we would balance the budget through a lot of cuts to entitlement programs, and find a way to wean ourselves off social security. Not a popular idea to be sure!