Raymond H. Baca posted a comment on our blog post, Stop the Mileage Tax:
I don't agree with this mileage tax; California democracy is full of criminals, better said, demons.
Sherri Vieira has just posted a comment on our blog post, Assembly Democrats Refuse to Stop a Double Tax on Drivers:
B.S.
The Rural Reality vs. The Urban Luxury - Proposed Mileage Tax (AB 1421)
Dear Neighbor,
Last year, I drove 52,800 miles serving our district. Under the proposed mileage tax (AB 1421), I would be forced to pay $5,000 out of my own pocket—simply for doing my job.
I don't have a private jet, and I don't live near a major airport. Like many of you, I drive to work, typically at least 15-20 hours every week because that is the reality of representing rural California.
The Rural Reality vs. The Urban Luxury
Rural Californians don't drive long distances by choice; we do it to work, seek medical care, and raise our families. The math behind this proposal is staggering: At just 4¢ per mile, a rural commuter could pay $845 a year, compared to $106 for an urban commuter working the same job with the same hours. Same work. Same responsibilities. Eight times the driving.
Too Many Unanswered Questions
AB 1421 is full of holes that will ultimately be filled with money from your pocketbook. We deserve to know:
Who pays for work travel—the employee or the employer?
What about driving to educational activities or our kids' games?
What about our truck drivers who are already maxed out on fees, regulations and taxes?
Are emergency services (Fire/Police) and school buses exempt?
Do we have to pay if we drive on non-state roads?
How does this affect travel for out-of-state trips or medical appointments?
How are they going to track this?
I want to hear from you. To help me fight this in Sacramento, please fill out our survey with your typical monthly mileage and the county you reside in by clicking HERE: How Would a Mileage Tax Affect You?
Equity must account for geography, not ignore it. I will continue to push back against any policy that treats rural life as a taxable luxury.
Sincerely,
Heather Hadwick
Assemblywoman, 1st District
Hope you can keep the print going. Would miss the Valley news. Sure would like to see more “Old Rancher” news if there are any of us left. I'm a high school rodeo club kid and roping club. 4-H horse project if any has news.
Barbara “Marcus” White
Fallon, Nevada
Come to the sunrise
Come to the sunrise
Where every tip of every branch
Of every tree
Shines in temporary glory
The mountains and hills glow
In the rise of dew from the earth
(Once covered in dank darkness)
Now offering up a psalm of softest light
Pastures appearing freshly mown
Are simply the recent thaw and growth
Of infant spring still sometimes overcome
By sudden wind and snow
The bluest you will see the mountains today
Is at dawn
But soon they will be blushing from the attentions paid to them
By the rosy morning sun
The morning itself is a newborn thing
Screaming or sleeping into becoming
More of something that it has yet to be
Something that has all of the weight of uncertainty
And possibility
Possibility as red and bright as the robin's breast
Possibility as long as the drifting clouds
Possibility as temporary as the light holding for a time
The flowers on my window sill
As they look out on this new day
This day of somberness and pleasure
Of fear and awakening
Of looking forward and looking back
And seeing with first sight
That where we have come from
Is both ancient and new
But the paths ahead of us are for a time
Drenched in faerie hope
Ephemeral but real
A bright spot of something memorable
To carry us through the day ahead
Love,
Jillian Makoutz
