Vehicle Taxes and Clear Air
* I could not disagree more with Assemblyman Tom McClintock’s June 14 commentary about repealing the vehicle registration tax. Under the guise of being a good conservative, McClintock urges the repeal of the tax for its own sake and because other states are doing it but does not give any rationale except some demagoguery about taxes being too high. Instead of his flawed proposal, the vehicle registration tax should be retained and restructured so that it helps to pay the car’s way in providing roads and remuneration for externalities for which the car is responsible.
All of us help pay the bills for heavy car users. Gas taxes don’t pay for all of the highway construction and maintenance, and other states do not have our air quality problems. Whether or not we drive on freeways or commute long distances, general fund tax revenues from all of us subsidize drivers. If McClintock were a true conservative, he would work to see that the car paid for itself through a miles traveled/air pollution vehicle registration fee. It shouldn’t just be a property tax, as it is now, but should be structured to reflect the distance we travel and the amount we pollute.
JUDY WRIGHT
Claremont
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Re “Clean-Fuel Rule Calls for New City Vehicles,” June 14: I applaud the City Council for recognizing the problems that diesel buses and trucks present to our environment and public health. According to the California Air Resources Board, 95% of Californians live in areas that fail to meet basic health standards. This is unacceptable, especially when the technology exists to make cleaner cars, trucks and buses.
The air pollution in Los Angeles from diesel vehicles as well as gasoline-powered cars is causing cancer, and we need to commit to actually using the technology that’s available. It makes me so angry that the auto and oil industries are putting their profits over our public health. I hope that the City Council’s move is a first step in a real effort by the city of Los Angeles to clean up its air.
JANINE BENNER
Los Angeles
