1.0Sightline Institutehttps://www.sightline.orgEric de Placehttps://www.sightline.org/profile/eric-de-place/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="7y4wGP2u50"><a href="https://www.sightline.org/2011/10/11/do-vehicle-license-fees-make-driving-unaffordable/">Do Vehicle License Fees Make Driving Unaffordable?</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.sightline.org/2011/10/11/do-vehicle-license-fees-make-driving-unaffordable/embed/#?secret=7y4wGP2u50" width="600" height="338" title="“Do Vehicle License Fees Make Driving Unaffordable?” — Sightline Institute" data-secret="7y4wGP2u50" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ScreenHunter_01-Oct.-11-10.12.gif594687Do vehicle license fees harm the poor? Even if car fees actually are regressive---and I think the answer is far from clear---it's wrong-headed to think that voting down a fee will somehow make driving affordable. Even a cursory look at history shows turning driving into a necessity is what really harms the poor. In the early part of 2005, a driver in Seattle could fill up at less than $2 per gallon, but by 2011 that same driver was paying twice as much at the pump. Given typical driving habits, fuel prices alone added more than $1,000 to the annual cost of operating a car since 2005. In other words, world oil prices tacked on the equivalent of 18 of Seattle's proposed vehicle license fees.