12-18-2016, 09:37 PM
(12-18-2016, 06:53 PM)darts Wrote:(12-17-2016, 06:51 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Current gas taxes add up to 24.7 cents/litre (10 cents federal and 14.7 provincial) in Ontario, excluding HST (which applies to almost everything anyway).
Most of Europe is 50-75 cents/litre. Japan is about 50 cents/litre but highways are very frequently tolled.
Personally I would be happy to pay an extra 25 cents/litre if that got us better road infrastructure. Current levels amount to roughly $13B/year; another 25 cents would nearly double that (assuming some reduction in driving due to higher prices). Consistently spending an additional $10B/year on our roads and bridges alone would surely be a good start in catching up our transportation infrastructure deficit.
How much disposable income do you have to be happy to pay more in taxes? I know I'm not getting a raise in 2017 : /
This conversation could get derailed real quickly, your lack of a raise is a big issue, but it's no justification to let our infrastructure rot and burden future generations with enormous debts (both financial and infrastructure).
I'm a staunch advocate for reducing income inequality, but I'm also against using income stagnation as an excuse for bad government policies.
@embe Nobody is denying that cars have benefits, that's why there's no car hate. However, often, what *is* denied is the harm they cause, and the fact that they're enormously subsidized. It's frustrating to hear people speak as if they're entitled to free roads, and free parking, and when they're forced to pay for these things, call it a war on cars.