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States Thinking About Charging Drivers by Mile to Fund Road Maintenance
States are frantically trying to figure out how to continue producing money to fund road repair.
Historically, authorities have used gas tax money to improve roads, but “the problem that has developed is those taxes are generating less each year due to inflation, fuel efficiency and the rise of electric cars,” Fox Business reported Sunday.
State officials now want to replace those fees in some way, and one idea is to start charging drivers by the mile rather than the gallon in the future.
Others include charging for door-to-door deliveries and taxing electricity through car charging stations.
“The federal government is about to pilot its own program, funded by $125 million from President Biden’s infrastructure measure that he signed in November 2021,” the Fox report said.
“So far, only three states, Oregon, Utah and Virginia are generating revenue from road usage charges,” the outlet continued, noting Hawaii is set to join the states listed.
Although the economy is very robust, White House Senior Advisor Mitch Landrieu recently stated that “inflation is very, very stubborn” despite the fact that Americans are still struggling in the Biden economy.
“It’s lower here than in every other [country in the] industrialized world and it has come down for the last eleven months. So, I’m not saying we’re out of the battle,” he stated.
According to Breitbart News' article on June 12, voters in the US are still concerned about the issue of inflation.
“Eighty-seven percent of likely U.S. voters say they are concerned about inflation, including 63 percent who say they are very concerned, a poll from Rassmussen Reports showed Friday. Only 11 percent say they are not concerned about inflation,” the outlet said.
Regarding the “rise of electric cars,” as the Fox article indicated, Breitbart News revealed in January that rising electricity prices had brought about a situation where driving an electric car 100 miles now costs more than driving a gas vehicle the same distance.
However, as his administration promotes green energy, President Joseph Biden (D) has pushed electric cars. In January, he declared that “on my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.”
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