MacRaven - Dave Haxton's Weblog

Wed, 13 Jun 2007

NC Man Fined For Using Vegetable Oil As Fuel

I've got an idea: let's let government "save" us from dependence on foreign fossil fuels ...

The News and Observer reports on an Charlotte, NC driver who has been fined $1000 for not paying a fuel tax when he fills his tank with vegetable oil. Perhaps the funniest quote is this one: "With the high cost of fuel right now, the department does recognize that a lot of people are looking for relief," said Reggie Little, assistant director of the motor fuel taxes division. "We're not here to hurt the small guy, we're just trying to make sure that the playing field is level." Sure, since the field is so plainly tilted against Arab oil interests.

(link) [Slashdot]

/Politics | 10 writebacks | permanent link

On 6/13/2007 06:58:16
Arwin wrote

Two sides to every coin...

All our roads are built with money from fuel tax... and probably other taxes too, but mainly fuel tax. If everyone avoided paying fuel tax our crumbling road infrastructure would be worse than it is now. Libertarians would say the govt should get out of the road building business and stop taxing fuel. I disagree with this view. Early in our history the Whiskey Rebellion set the precedent for taxes like the fuel tax. Having said that, I think some govt bureaucrat is over-reacting to this situation. The problem isn't too much government, it is too many Barney Fifes in govt.

On 6/13/2007 07:02:02
Dave H wrote

Of course

the problem isn't "too much government". The problem is that we have a government at all ... Thanks for the comment and Be well, Dave H

On 6/13/2007 07:47:19
SB wrote

The cool thing about a veg oil vehicle, is that if you had to buy the oil new and not get it recycled from somewhere, you could do it on your food stamps. I'm not sure it would reduce your overall household expenditures since you'll have x less in stamps to spend on food, but you'd be throwing less of the actual money you worked for into the gas tank of the clunker you need to drive to get to your job. Just random musing I guess. I'm fed up with the car "eating better" than I do most months.

On 6/13/2007 07:57:41
Erik wrote

On 6/13/2007 08:02:31
Erik wrote

(Sorry for the blank post...) Gol-durn rev'noors! I live in NC, and I have to say that *I* thought the funniest line in the article was "a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels".

On 6/13/2007 09:28:07
Eric Schwenke wrote

Seeing as how Ana and I live in NC and were seriously looking for a way to get a biodiesel car, it is good to know that we would have to deal with this insanity. As for governments and roads: Privatize them, let people pay by useage.

On 6/13/2007 11:08:25
Analemma wrote

NC actually does promote alternative fuels, believe it or not. They offer huge tax breaks for converting to most well-established alternative energy sources (like solar). This looks like some sort of loophole that needs to be closed. I disagree with my wonderful husband about road privatization (the last thing I want to do is stop at 50 toll booths on the way to work) and have no qualms with fuel taxes funding roads, but now that alternative and recycled fuels are becoming popular they need to devise a streamlined and simple way for people to pay their fair share of fuel taxes. And given the state of the bureaucracy, I'm not terribly optimistic about that.

On 6/13/2007 14:57:24
Eric Schwenke wrote

To my beautiful wife, Let them bill you.

On 6/14/2007 08:59:03
Analemma wrote

Ah, love, you are an anarchist, but I am merely libertarian. As I sit here and count on the fingers of one hand the things that governments must do, roads are one of them. This is not because everyone benefits from them, nor even because private roads are a logistical nightmare (I don't want someone tracking where I go to send me a bill), but because the government must have undeniable, unlimited access to roads to transport troops and public safety officers in the event of a threat. If they can be denied passage, then they cannot serve their primary purpose of protecting citizens.

On 6/14/2007 15:00:37
SB wrote

Not to mention that privatizing the roads would lead to a further ghettoization of already economically suppressed areas. If you can't afford to live someplace nicer, you can't afford to pay some company to come and fix the potholes on your street. People in poor neighborhoods already have trouble getting assistance from police, fire, and ambulance (not to mention just getting the damn street lights replaced), a deteriorating roads system in those neighborhoods would lead to almost complete abandonment. Except of course, when they need to show how effective the "war on drugs" is by rounding up a few dozen poor people and shuffling them through the extortion process...er, I mean, the judicial system.

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