This made me happier than it really should

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
06/30/2019 at 22:17 • Filed to: There's 1 for you 19 for me

This is where the pump clicked itself off. I would have been even happier had I been paying cash, but there were only $3 in my pocket.

In case you're wondering why I only bought 8.8 gallons of gas, when my truck has a 25 gallon tank, it's because Illinois is raising its gas tax 19 cents a gallon tomorrow, so I topped both vehicles off tonight.

DISCUSSION (26)

SirDrivesAlot (now with hybrid powerrrr) > shop-teacher
06/30/2019 at 22:50

Taxes going up there too? CA raised taxes .12 two years ago, going up another .056 tomorrow. Taxes now almost .48 /gallon.....

Fuckkinja > shop-teacher
06/30/2019 at 22:56

Michigan is trying to raises the gas tax. The natives will revolt. The wages here are not enough to support the hike.

NKato > shop-teacher
06/30/2019 at 22:58

Gas taxes are counterproductive, in my opinion.

For Sweden > SirDrivesAlot (now with hybrid powerrrr)
06/30/2019 at 23:08

But are the city streets no longer full of potholes?

shop-teacher > SirDrivesAlot (now with hybrid powerrrr)
06/30/2019 at 23:21

Oh yeah. They're jacking registration fees way up too.

shop-teacher > NKato
06/30/2019 at 23:21

How so?

shop-teacher > Fuckkinja
06/30/2019 at 23:22

To be fair, they haven't raised the gas tax here since the early 90's.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > shop-teacher
06/30/2019 at 23:41

That’s like a fill up for my Honda Fit when the low fuel light is on.

SirDrivesAlot (now with hybrid powerrrr) > For Sweden
06/30/2019 at 23:46

No. But getting better.....

shop-teacher > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
06/30/2019 at 23:55

Heck, when I had the RallyMetro, 8 gallons was about all I ever managed to stuff in that little tank.

His Stigness > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 00:07

I feel bad for chuckling to myself when I read that our gas tax was going up again here in California as apparently the raise we passed a few years ago will be pegged to inflation rates (as it should be).

I’m so glad I got electric cars. It’s amazing how much money I’ve saved. And I even talked a customer into getting one. And I did it by just talking about how much money I’ve saved.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 01:06

This is a good take. I don’t like paying more at the pump any more than the next gearhead, but it is needed.

The gas tax and/or hghway funding models used by both the feds and many states have this problem of generally having not been touched in 20-30 years . Flat rate per gallon taxes usually aren’t indexed to inflation, so that funding loses purchasing power over time. The other problem is that these taxes often haven’t kept up with vehicle miles driven on roads. When most of this legislation was adopted in the 90's it didn’t envision a world where 1/2 ton pickups get close enough to 25mpg, much less what modern cars and hybrids achieve.

If you dig through the papers of the politicians that wrote and passed all this legislation in 90's, the intention was always that these taxes would be revisited and revised as needed. They weren’t intended to be set in stone for perpetuity.

I’ll get of my political papers archive soapbox for night...

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 08:44

The gas tax makes me glad I live in Missouri 9 months of the year, but makes me sad that all the cars I like drink premium and my soon to be latest purchase is a decent amount less efficient than the TSX

Dakotahound > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 09:06

I always like it when number coincidences occur . It seems like a sign of good luck. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and see that it is 2:34 or 3:45 and feel good about it.

I know, superstitions are not rational, but my job involves a lot of numbers and it is nice to see them align.

shop-teacher > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
07/01/2019 at 09:42

Agreed on all counts, and our roads and bridges desperately need this money put into them. There is, unfortunately, on big rub. Illinois has a rich and extensive history of money disappearing into the general fund, never to be seen again. While this new money is specifically earmarked for roads, the old gas tax money is not. So, it's entirely possible that the roads will continue to be underfunded at the exact same rate. I hope that doesn't happen.

shop-teacher > His Stigness
07/01/2019 at 09:43

Registration for electric cars is going up by a factor of something like 15 this year.

shop-teacher > Dakotahound
07/01/2019 at 09:45

I'm not superstitious about it, I just enjoy it. I recently found the picture of my odometer rolling to 123467, and it made me happy all over again.

Dakotahound > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 09:46

Yes, maybe “ superstitious” was a bad choice of words. I also just enjoy the coincidence.

shop-teacher > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford
07/01/2019 at 10:03

I've never owned a vehicle that required premium. My first car required 89, but back then that meant $1.20/ gallon instead of $1.10.

His Stigness > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 11:42

According to this article it will be around $250 a year. That’s completely fair. $17 a year would be horseshit. I pay around $250 a year for each e-Golf, but that’s a normal amount for my car in California. Here the registration is based off the value, and when it’s a commercial class (aka ANY truck) it’s based off weight and value.

But right now I’m not really paying any use tax here. No one has yet to figure out how to move the structure to account for EVs, but it should just go to a base tax rate based off income instead of the regressive fuel tax we currently rely on which is broken.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-illinois-ev-fee-hike-20190603-story.html

NKato > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 16:09

They reduce the working income of the poor and middle class, people who are more likely to be using older cars that have worse mileage.

This in turn makes it harder to buy a new EV or hybrid.

shop-teacher > NKato
07/01/2019 at 16:26

Solid logic. What mechanism do you feel they should use to find roadwork instead then?

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > shop-teacher
07/01/2019 at 17:06

I wish! Now that’s like $2.85 vs $3.05, downstate. I can’t imagine how much premium is up by Chicago. It hurt when I was going to school there and that was only Kankakee

Edit: I checked, my usual “cheap” spot where premium was usually $2.80 is now $3.05

shop-teacher > dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford
07/01/2019 at 18:25

Yesterday while driving around the Western suburbs, I say everything between $2.85 and $3.01. I haven't checked today.

NKato > shop-teacher
07/02/2019 at 03:02

To fund roadworks? Hmm... how about taxing the bejesus out of companies that pay next to no federal tax?

Especially ones that do a metric crapton of shipping.

shop-teacher > NKato
07/02/2019 at 08:20

I think you will like what Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang has to say then. I find it very interesting myself.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxbusiness.com/economy/andrew-yang-amazon-tax.amp