OpinionJournal - The Western Front: Soak the Green

The subhead on the title-linked column is "Oregon mulls a new tax that environmentalists and privacy advocates will hate." The author is Brendan Miniter. It appeared May 10, 2005, on Opinion Journal, a website of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page.

The subject is a sore one with me. Oregon is seriously studying using GPS systems in private vehicles so that the state can rip more tax dollars from drivers of fuel-efficient cars. (They're not paying enough in gas tax, you see...). The GPS is called for, you see, because that way the state can charge different rates for in-state versus out-of-state travels, or impose higher charges in congested areas. Such a deal. Isn't technology wonderful?

We're just trying to be fair to everybody, the state says.

How any government in a free country can even imagine it has a right to track the travels of its citizens is beyond my comprehension.

For the state's take on this, see the Office of Innovative Partnerships and Alternative Funding's Road User Fee Pilot Program page.