Are you prepared to pay a CARBON TAX for your Cobra?

RedBarchetta · #1 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 09:31 AM

This may get a little long-winded, but the writing is clearly on the wall.

With our service economy pushing our GDP to ~70% consumer driven, and with growing unemployment, deficit spending and a radically reduced tax base to generate revenues from, all Governments (Federal and State) are eventually going to start taxing whatever they can to shore up the dams, repair the roads and continue to provide basic services (emergency or otherwise). This is not a political statement...it's fact.

So what does this have to do with Cobras? Simple! Our little "race cars with license plates", by most standards of the day, are gross polluters.

I just happen to be at the forefront in part of this green effort, partnering in a start-up software company that helps big business track and maintain it's carbon footprint. The smaller the footprint, the smaller the tax. You have heard of carbon credits and cap & trade? Well, tracking and validating your footprint is at the epicenter of all of this. It's happening right now and most people don't realize it. Every PC has a carbon signature. Every printer. The type of light bulb you use. It's detailed and scary.

So as I see this little start-up begin to sprout wings, I begin to put myself in the position of big government. My tax base has dwindled and I still have all these aircraft carriers to maintain, all these roads and bridges to repair, yada, yada, yada. I'm already taxing fuel, tobacco and alcohol pretty good (with more room to go), so what else can I grab? Aha!!! Gas guzzlers. You know, all those "automotive enthusiasts" that love their internal combustion like an old friend? Like shooting fish in a barrel...they'll pay dearly to keep their internal combustion freedoms.

We are an easy target. If it was built prior to 2000, it most likely has a large carbon footprint relative to late model offerings. Built prior to 1990? Much worse. 1965, or worse, SB100 (CA reg) exempt?!? OMG! That person is going to have to pay dearly.

Would love to hear other views on this. But I'm preparing for a world (at least our U.S. economy) in which we will have to pay an annual tax to compensate for the high carbon footprint our cars leave.

-Dean

csx wnab · #2 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 09:46 AM

it seems to me that we are headed towards a communist state. should i just move to cuba now or wait till the government takes all that is mine first? everyday we lose alittle more of our freedom. just makes me wonder why i served in the armed forces. what was i serving for? so tthe government could take alittle freedom away day by day. maybe they should stop spending in the wrong places. there are so few cobras, and so many hummers. just my .02 cents.

RedBarchetta · #3 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 10:52 AM

Oh, the Hummer drivers will get nailed, too. If it involves internal combustion, it will leave a higher (relative) carbon footprint and it will be taxed, accordingly. Again, my prediction for the future.

I look at this as the price of admission to enjoy the freedoms of topless driving in a 21st century world that is quickly becoming radically different than the previous world we all grew up in.

csx wnab · #4 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 12:46 PM

i was thinking of moving to new zealand in the distant future, maybe i'll be moving sooner. ............................damn it.

1ntCobra · #5 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 12:50 PM

If the government wants the majority of us to drive low carbon footprint electric vehicles, what would be the point of putting a high tax on an ever shrinking portion of the population. Unless of course the government would prefer to not tax the majority?

csx wnab · #6 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 12:52 PM

they'll start taxing electricity.............what else?

KM480 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:11 PM

How about switching our cars to run on methanol... Change the fuel lines and carb... bump up the compression to 14:1 and suffer with 3 mpg instead of 6.

We don't drive them very far any way...

Then they would all be GREEN machines saving the planet one hot lap at a time.

RedBarchetta · #8 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1ntCobra

If the government wants the majority of us to drive low carbon footprint electric vehicles, what would be the point of putting a high tax on an ever shrinking portion of the population. Unless of course the government would prefer to not tax the majority?

They will hit everyone with higher gasoline taxes to start. That's the easy paint stroke and it hits everyone from the trucker to the soccer mom. It also garners the most revenue. I will bet the farm on that happening in the next 12 months.

But they will also disguise other alternative revenue streams as carbon taxes, and they will use DMV records to target specialty vehicles and year built. Think of all the cars still on the road that are older than year 2000. They are all targets. Make the carbon tax high enough and you could force many to seek alternatives (i.e. more effiicient car, public transportation, etc.). All the alternatives essentially create jobs. Enthusiasts will shrug and the pay the tax (to a point), again as part of their annual DMV fees. That's how you administer the program...it's already in place and it's 100% electronic.

Now you start to see how all of this ties in.

Dan Stryffeler · #9 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:16 PM

Jobs will come back over time, tax base (and revenues) will begin to increase. Some current projects (dams, bridges, etc.) are being postponed or cancelled and budgets are being slashed. Basic services in most communities will continue abeit on a smaller scale.

The problem in the near future (20 to 30 years) will be the fresh water needed to process all these new technologies and increased energy demand; not the lack of gasoline or personalized carbon footprint taxes...

I don't think even the government could justify the payback of a carbon footprint tax when they consider all the effort (expense) of trying to figure out the carbon footprint of every citizen (legal or alien).

Personally, I think they would be better off putting a sales tax on eBay transactions

- Dan

RedBarchetta · #10 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:20 PM

Dan, there is also a lot of discussion on Capital Hill for instituting a VAT - Value Added Tax. Again, same result in a different wrapper. However a VAT would attack everything from your McDonald's burger to fuel costs. Talk about a BIG paint brush!

The bottom line is that revenues will lag expenditures for quite some time during this "jobless recovery." The revenue shortfall has to come from somewhere. Us hot rodders are easy pickins'.

-Dean

Dan Stryffeler · #11 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:27 PM

Hmmm... exactly what value does McDonalds add to hamburger? Wonder if they would get a VAT tax credit!

mpanten · #12 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:30 PM

Cant we just start over? Seriously, all these guys and gals in congress need run out of town on a rail to put it mildly. I cant really write what I would like to do or I will get a knock on my door from the secret service.

jhv48 · #13 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:49 PM

As we move toward more fuel efficiency and more hybrid/electric technology, our road use taxes (paid by taxing every gallon of gas we use) will drop substantially leaving little or no money to repair/build our roads. Thus, in the near future, we will all have little black boxes in our vehicles that will transmit our annual mileage to some State Bureau that will then send us a bill for our road use tax.

We may reduce our gas bill, but we will be taxed for our road useage.

Dangerous Doug · #14 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedBarchetta

This is not a political statement...it's fact.

-Dean

Fact? Sounds pretty speculative to me...

DD

khansmith · #15 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 02:25 PM

For the past 5 years, I have been seriously considering propane conversions for certain of my toys. The cobra would be a challenge and would most likely take the entire trunk or potentially smaller tanks in parallel.

RedBarchetta · #16 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 02:26 PM

Doug, do the research, my man....do the research.

Jim nailed it eloquently one post prior to yours. If you can't tax lower gas usage, then what else is there? Answer = mileage.

If the air wasn't free you'd pay for that, too. Wait...there's C.A.R.B. here in Cali so I'm already paying for that, too.

RedBarchetta · #17 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khansmith

For the past 5 years, I have been seriously considering propane conversions for certain of my toys. The cobra would be a challenge and would most likely take the entire trunk or potentially smaller tanks in parallel.

Propane leaves a cleaner carbon footprint. You'll still pay, but most likely get the good guy discount.

khansmith · #18 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedBarchetta

Propane leaves a cleaner carbon footprint. You'll still pay, but most likely get the good guy discount.

Very true. Here in Atlanta, if you have an alternative fuel vehicle, you get to drive in the HOV lane. I always wanted to do that in a cobra

What do you mean officer? I am running propane? AFV clearance in the HOV!

REAL 1 · #19 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 02:48 PM

The politicians wreck our economy, spend us into ruin, then bleed us dry to fix what they screwed up under the excuse they need the money to fix what they screwed up only to screw up more and wreck the country even further and bleed us dry some more. Repeat over and over.

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up.

In the end we are to blame for not stopping it and not getting rid of the bums.

If you don't fix the problem you will continue to get what you got and maybe worse.

Dan Stryffeler · #20 (**permalink**) 10-07-2009, 02:50 PM

I'd love to see them try and wire a black box into my Cobra (sorry... uh,"sportscar"). I'm even afraid to honk my horn on the chance that it might start a fire in the wiring harness

According to wikipedia (so it must be true) there were 250,851,833 registered passenger vehicles in 2006 - that's a [i]lot[i] of black boxes to be installed - might have to consider a carreer change to get a piece of that pie!

(Feel free to insert Microsoft operating system black box jokes here)

This from a government that can't even figure out how to count votes - ain't gonna happen -sorry...

- Dan