Berkeley steers toward creating car tax Owners of multiple vehicles would pay more

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | February 22, 2004 | Demian Bulwa

[sarcasm]

Berkeley's passionate hate affair with the automobile is heating up.

Seeking to squeeze cash out of conspicuous consumers and packrats to help ease its budget crunch, the city of speed bumps and neighborhood traffic barriers is trying to figure out a way to do something unprecedented: tax residents who own multiple cars.

[goldstategop]

The Taliban in Bezerkely are opposed to the car. Its like they don't live in America at all.

[muawiyah]

Berkely-ites don't need cars. Just ban them!

[randita]

It's not multiple cars alone that cause the congestion, it's multiple cars COUPLED with multiple drivers.

It's not a luxury for everyone in a household to have a car if they all use the cars to go to necessary, but different locations each day (job, school). And a person who owns multiple cars can only drive one of them at a time so they're not contributing to the congestion.

This is stupid, but it's Berkeley. You wouldn't expect common sense.

[Defendingliberty]

"But supporters of the Berkeley proposal say that while it may not bring in enough money to cover its administrative costs, its could ease the parking crunch in neighborhoods......." 456th.com But they would feel good.....

[Sam Cree]

"Still, Mayor Tom Bates said, "If we had the option, we'd do it in a heartbeat. We feel cars are a luxury that is expensive for the community."

Yep, let's have the state force us to cut down on consumption, possessions and wealth, it'll be a sure fire way to reduce expenses, help the average joe and raise revenue /sarcasm/.

Remember the luxury tax some years ago? It put alot of folks out of work who worked in the aircraft, boating and high end car industries, as well as the industries that support them. This'll do the same, reducing car ownership is going to hurt the economy. Take a look in any yellow pages and see how many businesses are oriented around automobiles.

I think the Left wants everyone to be poor and live in the stone age, easier then for the state to control us.

[dakine]

I have four cars in my driveway right now, I expect the State of Maryland will try something like this in the future...the frickin' socialists...

[Sam Cree]

"It's not a luxury for everyone in a household to have a car"

No, it isn't. And beyond that, where does government come off telling us how much "luxury" we are allowed, much less legislating such a thing. For that matter, what business is it of government even defining such a thing as luxury.

Not to mention the loss of personal freedom entailed by the government depriving its citizens of their means of transportation, or, in this case, taking steps in that direction.

[johniegrad]

Your point is the important one. It is none of the government's business how many vehicles people own or how many houses, or how many animals or how many investments. If the city of Berkeley has parking problems then it is incumbent on the city to enforce its parking regulations.

[Sam Cree]

the frickin' socialists...""

Socialism has been such a proven disaster and tragedy, especially in its cost of human life, that it makes one wonder how "liberals" can continue to embrace it. Considering that socialism has resulted in the death by execution of hundreds of millions, it's mind bogglingly ironic that so many preach its virtues in the name of fairness and justice.

My son credits their motives to a desire to control others, which is undoubtedly part of it.

[Jacquerie]

Berkeley has never had a problem coming up with cutting-edge ideas

Excessive taxation is as old as civilization.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Nor is it clear how the tax would treat a family with five drivers compared to a high-roller with five Bentleys.

The bums of Berkeley don't care about people!

They only care about money.

[Imagine]

How about taxing wefare moms for how many kids they have.

[Drango]

Berkeley's progressive politics and its ailing coffers.

The boycott is working....

[Lockbox]

Now let's see.....two couples live in Berkeley.

One is married and has two cars. They are taxed for having more then one car per family.

The other couple are gay and living together also with two cars. Since they are not married, they are not a family, therefore no tax.

Would this be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause California?

[jigsaw]

The city once had to crack down on a resident whose 17 cars had become "rat harborages," Worthington said.

Hogwash. They were holding a convention. And they're going to have another soon in Boston.

[ccmay]

you could imagine it as a tax on hard-working people

Gee, is there any other kind of tax? And this is a professor of tax policy talking.

-ccm

[Psycho_Bunny]

And people will cheat the system, said Glenn Oliveria, the 56-year-old owner of a Berkeley garage that services Alpha Romeos and Ferraris.

"They will say, 'My cat has a car, my dog has a car,' " he said. "The rich will find loopholes."

You know......you just can't make stuff like this up.

Modern Liberalism can be boiled down to one concept:  Bite The Hand That Feeds You.

[Mr. Jeeves]

I spent twenty minutes last night driving around downtown Berkeley trying to find a place to park. For a community that hates cars, they have more of them parked on the street than anywhere else in the Bay Area.

[Drango]

I spent twenty minutes last night driving around downtown Berkeley trying to find a place to park.

LOL...Remember we're boycotting Berkeley!

OK, I go to Cal games if I get free tickets, but I refuse to spend a nickel there.