'miles driven' tax

[Adam Griffin]

Yuck. Perhaps I'm not far enough to the left on economics (I would think -6 would be enough) or it's my regional influence, but this just smacks of wrong. Maybe it's because it has bad elements from left and right (regressive tax, radical environmentalism) or maybe it's just the 5 cent per mile number that's ruining it for me.

I'm not big on emissions testing and monitored driving; the government can do much in terms of influencing mileage standards, national manufacturer emission standards and the standard fuel tax. A tax like this would also be felt across the entire economy. What happens to truckers and therefore, logistics and transportation costs of products? People would pay more to be able to drive, and again for everything else that has to be driven.  

Double the gas tax to 36.8 cents and that'll generate ~$125 billion per year in additional revenue. Use that to develop the next mass-produced automobile fuel sources and systems over ten years (electric, hydrogen).