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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alighieri who wrote (440800)	12/16/2008 10:51:07 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1584744

North Carolina Considers Charging Tax on Miles Driven By GARY D. ROBERTSON, AP Posted: 2008-12-15 13:00:51 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina panel asked to find solutions for a $65 billion transportation shortfall over the next two decades wrapped up a year of work Wednesday, with its chairman saying it's now up to the public to persuade lawmakers to follow through on recommendations. It won't be easy: the state needs to invest $1 billion a year for the next 10 years to reduce congestion, increase safety and boost the economy, the 21st Century Transportation Committee said. The best way to do that is to raise additional taxes and fees, toll interstates and issue a large road-building bond package, according to the final report approved by the committee of legislators, business leaders and local elected officials. Other committees and interest groups have argued for more transportation revenue in the past. Chairman Brad Wilson he hopes that members of the panel can remain vocal about the issues so that their study just won't sit on some dusty shelf at the Legislative Building. But he urged citizens to speak out with them. "If the people of North Carolina wants emphasis placed on transportation improvements, then this report will be different," said Wilson, chief operating officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. But he also said he understands that "a year ago, the budget wasn't in this shape." There will already be intense pressure upon the Legislature to narrow a state budget gap that could exceed more than $2 billion for the next fiscal year with higher taxes and spending cuts. Legislators have said that environment will make it even harder to seek additional revenue sources for transportation. Recent high gasoline prices, changing driving patterns and the national recession have made short-term transportation spending problems more acute. Revenues dedicated to road-building are down through the first five months of the year, including a 5 percent decline in the gasoline tax and 25 percent decline in transportation-related fees. "In simple terms, we're losing about $30 million per month," said Mark Foster, chief financial officer of the Department of Transportation, told a separate transportation oversight committee later Wednesday. "We could be well over a billion dollars (down from) where we are today." The final report is nearly identical to the recommendations given tentative approval three weeks ago by the panel, formed in October 2007 by Gov. Mike Easley, Senate leader Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney. The panel said the General Assembly should consider raising the highway use tax, from 3 percent of a car's sales price to 4 percent, generating $200 million more annually. quick find: dealer incentives, pricing, consumer reviews & more AcuraRDX \| Chrysler PT Cruiser \| Toyota Avalon \| Dodge Nitro \| Ford F-150 \| Volkswagen Jetta \| Chrysler 300C Registration fees on passenger vehicles also should be increased from the current $28 to $58 over three years, raising another $195 million annually. The Legislature also should examine charging motorists -- perhaps a quarter-cent for every mile recorded on a vehicle's odometer -- to pay for roads. There would be some mileage threshold before a driver would be charged so that people who drive infrequently aren't charged. The "vehicle miles traveled" fee could become a substitute for the gasoline tax, which first began in 1921 and whose revenues are expected to keep falling as more people drive alternative-fuel vehicles. "That paradigm is changing," Wilson said. Committee member and Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy, who raised concerns about the cost a per-mile fee would have on rural drivers, cast the lone vote against the recommendations. The committee also recommended the General Assembly authorize a road-building bond package to speed up construction on highly congested roadways. Local governments also should be allowed to raise sales taxes by up to 1 percentage point to pay for road and transit projects. The Legislature also should provide $170 million in matching funds for public transportation projects. The committee also wants the state to toll Interstate 95 at the Virginia and South Carolina borders and I-77 from the S.C. border to Statesville to generate money to widen the roads. Urban loops should be accelerated, and bridge replacements -- projected to cost $300 million -- should be fully funded. Steve Jackson, a public policy analyst with the liberal-leaning North Carolina Budget & Tax Center, said the recommendations were piecemeal that encourage more vehicle driving and failed to examine long-term issues. "Given how fundamental our transportation problems are in North Carolina, this is very disappointing," Jackson said. "The policy solutions suggested are more 1955 than 2055." Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. autos.aol.com

To: Alighieri who wrote (440800)	12/16/2008 11:48:59 AM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1584744

Al, > I am failing to make myself clear to you... I got your point. All the Big Three has to do is match the quality of Toyota, if not their labor costs. That's a management issue. It's a cop-out, though, to excuse labor's hand in this mess. High labor costs gives management fewer options to turn the company around. Now they're reduced to asking the federal government for help, as if salvation is just another $15B around the corner. Tenchusatsu