Nothing advances innovation like the possibility of a new tax stream. Such is the case with the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax, which will provide not only an additional source of confiscation, but the technology to progress the behavior of all personkind.

This past week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman who’s accepted our dogma in near record time, announced his consideration of a VMT tax, which would tax drivers based upon the amount of miles they drive.

While White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was quick to demur at the idea, a blue ribbon transportation commission is reportedly set this week to recommend the tax; and with many leading states already preparing plans to implement it, such as the bellwether state of Massachusetts, the White House — true to its courageous and bold nature — is unlikely to demur for long.

The system, which will require motorists to install a GPS chip in their vehicles, will transmit mileage information to a satellite, which in turn will transmit a tax bill to a gasoline station during the driver’s next fill-up.

Ingenious. And to think they still call 1984 and Brazil science fiction.

Just imagine the wonderful implications of such a system, especially with only a little tweaking. We’ll be able to track how fast people drive, where they eat and shop, and with whom they associate. And with this information, we’ll be able to improve their behavior by taxing ill — knowing full well that if you tax something, you’re sure to get less of it.

Using a GPS-coordinated speed-limit database, a few of which are already available, we can determine if a vehicle’s speed is even slightly excessive. So when these violations occur, we can simply add the price of a federal speeding ticket on top of the VMT tax — and automatically deliver the information to the pertinent police department, DMV, and insurance company, as to not deny localities of their much needed revenues. No one should complain. After all, they don’t seem to mind when their income is taxed by multiple authorities.

Through similar types of databases, we’ll also know when a vehicle stops in front of a fast-food restaurant or a tobacco shop — for which we’ll add on a health tax. Likewise, if someone stops at a arms dealer or show, we’ll add a gun-nut tax; and we’ll also notify the FBI and local law enforcement, so as to put this person on the appropriate watchlists.

Even more importantly, we can track if a vehicle parks in front of a known purveyor of terror and hate, such as a church, and add a tolerance tax. Unitarians, of course, will be exempt.

Government surveillance — like war, torture, and censorship — is only bad when not furthering our ends. When done for good, it must be embraced as a necessary evil.

Remember that when you are driving down some lonely road in the all-too-near future. For with every step you take, every move you make, we’ll be watching you.

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© Copyright 2009 by Colin Cohen. All Rights Reserved.

This column was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 9:40 am. You can follow any responses to this column through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.