L.A. County drivers could pay an extra 9 cents per gallon at the gas pump, or additional $90 vehicle registration to help fight global warming

Aw, hell naw! The money may be used to help fight global warming, but it just gave Zuma Dogg the chills. With gas at record high prices; jobs and pay at record low levels; food/energy/consumer good inflation on the rise; and more and more fees and taxes being added to local resident's cost of living dollars -- you are out of your gourd if you think you are going to add all this extra money for speculative, special interest driven, global warming mitigation. Go get the money from the corporations making record profits off the backs of the community.

from L.A. Times
Driver fee would help fight warming

L.A. County motorists would pay at pump or on vehicle registration.

By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 1, 2008

SACRAMENTO -- -- Motorists in Los Angeles County could end up paying an extra 9 cents per gallon at the gas pump, or an additional $90 on their vehicle registration, under proposals aimed at getting them to help fight global warming.

Voters would be able to decide whether to approve a "climate change mitigation and adaptation fee" under legislation being considered by state lawmakers and endorsed by the board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The money would fund improvements to mass transit and programs to relieve traffic congestion at a time when transportation dollars from Washington and Sacramento are hard to come by.

County Supervisor Mike Antonovich was the only MTA board member to vote against this bill.

"The supervisor believes we are already taxed enough on gas," said Tony Bell, an Antonovich spokesman. "Gas taxes aren't going to their promised target anyway."

In addition, Antonovich believes the MTA board is stacked in favor of Los Angeles and that the city has received more than its fair share of money, shorting other areas of the county.

[NOTE: Hard to argue with this part..."The registration fee would be higher for cars, trucks and SUVs that produce more carbon emissions, a feature that backers said would discourage drivers from using higher-polluting vehicles." However, ZD says then you have to make the tax, I mean fee only apply to all newly purchased vehicles of this nature. Because when people bought these vehicles they didn't know they would be taxed extra over it. ]

Zuma Times would like to add that there was a presentation at SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments), last year, that presented these two options and the need to bring in some money to build the desperately needed infrastructure mentioned above. But inflation and recession wasn't a big concern then.

And remember, SCAG/The State also wanna add a tax to the ballot for money to build the magic bullet train from Sacramento to San Diego. Plus, DWP rate hikes, trash collection fee increases, property tax for gang intervention programs, Metro Water Increase, bulky item removal fee, possible "personal income tax"...meanwhile you still let money fly out the window over "Special Event Fee Waivers" that you shouldn't be offering to huge commercial organizations; and you hand out all the non-profit money for housing and services to your favorite (non-transparent) non-profit of choice. (Crony-cahootsism!)

WHEN DO THE PEOPLE START SHOWING UP IN THE STREETS AND START PROTESTING?!?!?

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Tuesday, April 1, 2008