Travel tax?

The state of Oregon has floated a trail balloon regarding a mileage tax. You see the recent gas price issues and the 3 card monte game that is hybrid vehicles (you get better mileage but it takes 13 years to recoup the investment) has lowered the taxable income expectations of states like Oregon.

Their mileage tax program would put a GPS system in every citizens car and then at the end of the year if a resident didn't drive far enough to cover the states expectations on how much gas they should have bought that year, because Oregon has a large tax on a gallon of gas, then they send you a bill.

We are all forced to choke down on the bit of hybrid vehicles and I admit my own instance that vehicles today should be able to run at 40mpg, hybrid or not, however I can not abide by my sense of conservaton or ability to 'save money' with a gas effiecent vehicle no penalizes me in the state of Oregon.

What if my car breaks down and I decide to take the city transit system instead of fixing it? Or if I decide to ride my bike to work twice a week instead of driving? In both cases, am I not becoming a better steward of my energy expediture? Lowering my energy footprint? Hasn't the point of "driving less" been drilled into my consciousness this year?

The politicians promise that these GPS units wouldn't be used as a locator device so that the government would know where you were at in any given moment but can you really believe that? Heck no. How often have we seen this slippery slope of already captured information being used for alternative purposes?