Conservatives like myself are generally fond of tax cuts, but sometimes we forget what we're conceding when we get one. A great example is the child tax credit-- for the privilege of getting a substantial reduction in taxes, we get a substantial complication in the tax code. Why not simply increase the standard deduction for a dependent?
Unfortunately, this isn't the only example. Tax breaks for child care, medical expenses, tuition, and incremental tax reductions may reduce taxes paid, but at the cost of complicating the tax code and maintaining/increasing government's control over people.
So here's my recommendation for the next round of tax cuts; reduce and/or eliminate annual vehicle taxes and other functions of the Department of Motor Vehicles. License plates should be issued by the car dealer and should be good for as long as you own the car--and will serve as your registration as well. No annual stickers and vehicle taxes.. Drivers' licenses should be issued by those who know your driving record best--your insurance company.
Lost revenue? A modest increase in the gas tax would suffice to cover it. Whaddaya say; is 5 cents per gallon a reasonable cost for getting rid of all of that paperwork and frustration? I'd say it is.
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issue: insurance companies (private corporations) are then saddled with the responsibility of public protection in the decision of whether or not to issue driving licenses. bad idea; insurance goes WAY up because they're then carrying the onus for correctly discerning whether or not to issue licenses.
and then, you've also got the decision of which insurance companies are "allowed" to issue licenses. you can't have any fly-by-night operation doing it, so then you've got to have government regulations in place to determine who can and can not fulfill this office. ...similar problem with school vouchers: private schools are great, and vouchers would allow a good bit of "positives", but who decides where vouchers can be spent? especially when it comes to christian schools, do you want to have to "conform" to government standards?
Nope; insurance companies are already regulated at the state level in all states, so we know exactly who would be issuing or denying licenses. Moreover, it was actually the insurance companies who urged the regulation of driving to include tests & such for licensing--their actuarial staffs determined that untested drivers were responsible for a disproportionate # of accidents. I've got 1969 ads where they were doing this.
So all my proposal would do would eliminate the state as a middleman. Everything else is pretty much in place.
state regulation! aha! you sneaky devil! :)
i bet they would still "gripe" at the extra responsibility, but it doesn't seem like it would cause much of an issue, now that you remind me of state regulation. although; how much money would they have to lobby against this? enough to avoid the extra responsibility? and how hard would it be for them to THREATEN that rates would go up, and then scare people into voting the resolution down?
a good thing: you'd be SURE not to have unlicensed, UNINSURED drivers (or at least, MORE sure) when it's handled in-house.
...this is an intriguing idea. :) and fun to discuss.
Yup, I tend libertarian, but not yet anarchist. Too much Scripture (e.g. Romans 13) keeps me sane there.
I'd actually guess, regarding "extra" responsibility, that most companies would simply farm out the responsibility to subsidiaries or independent companies. Better prevention of uninsured driving? Doubtful--how do you influence non-customers who are largely poor already? Probably no worse, though.
well...here in florida, you have a lot of people who are LICENSED, but who do not have insurance. i think driving without a LICENSE is a bigger problem than driving w/o insurance, and so that's why it gets done so often. we have to pay for 'uninsured motorist coverage' so that MY insurance will pay if i get in an accident w/ an uninsured motorist, and it's their fault. it's deniable insurance, but what idiot wouldn't get it?
incidentally...i just switched to state farm, from allstate, and saved over $300/year (with MORE coverage). granted, some, but not most, of that is because my home insurance is with state farm, but it was still a huge jump.
pissed me off, because i've had 0 instances where allstate has had to pay out because of me in the 10 years i've been driving (and been with them), and they wouldn't beat state farm's rate.
schmucks.
Try Amica insurance on your next renewal and they're rated A by Std & Poor. I saved 40% from my Nationwide and they were pretty decent already.
A modest 5 cents increase tax is not alot until gas reaches $3 plus per gallon.
My first job out of college was working for State Farm and believe me, you don't want them to issue driver license b/c instead of points, to renew or not renew depends upon the claims (not accidents) and the amount of damages in those claims. Say you get a fender bender from a hit and run in the parking lot, that's one against you. Your car gets vandalized, that's another one against you. You get into an accident and the police can't determine who's telling the truth so he issues no tik, well that's one more to the list. Now, you have not received any ticket but three claims so that means your ins issues non-renewal b/c it's not only your driving record but your claims (profitability).
BTW, you can't be a Christian if you're a libertarian b/c all Christians have to be Republicans, Democrats are of Satan, and Independents are atheists. Republicans are God's party. I'm being sarcastic of course:o)
Thanks, mercy now. Do you mean I have to stop advocating the legalization of prostitution and heroin? :^)
(and welcome here!)
Yeah, I'd be a Libertarian, too. IF they had morals. And a reasonable foreign policy. And...
Oh, maybe not. :^/
Bert! You're looking for prostitution and heroin? Wow! You need to get back to "God's Country(tm)!" Pastor Mike will get you back in shape spiritually!
Actually Mark, if I were looking for heroin, methinks Boulder might actually be a pretty dangerous place to go! After all, it's apparently easier to find heroin there than a parking spot..... :^)
But for those of you in Rio Colorado Springs, take heart that I am not, in fact, a "legalize dope and hookers" type.
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