How stupid can they get

[Paul Mihalka]

NBC news:

 

A Seattle lawmaker is defending his proposed bike tax by saying that bikes are a) unhealthy; and b) bad for the environment. Demonstrating a lack of understanding of bicycles that suggests he may not actually know what they are, Republican Rep. Ed Orcutt says bikes are bad for the environment because they cause cyclists to have "an increased heart rate and respiration." "You would be giving off more carbon dioxide if you are riding a bike than driving in a car," he said, before admitting that he had not "done any analysis" of the difference between carbon dioxide emissions of bikes and cars. Of course not. [source]

[hANNAbONE]

...cuckoo...cuckoo...cuckoo...cUCKOO.!!

 

[tallman]

First they take the bikes.

 

Then the treadmills.

 

Where will the madness end....

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

A Seattle lawmaker is defending his proposed bike tax by saying that bikes are a) unhealthy; and b) bad for the environment. Demonstrating a lack of understanding of bicycles that suggests he may not actually know what they are, Republican Rep. Ed Orcutt says bikes are bad for the environment because they cause cyclists to have "an increased heart rate and respiration." "You would be giving off more carbon dioxide if you are riding a bike than driving in a car," he said, before admitting that he had not "done any analysis" of the difference between carbon dioxide emissions of bikes and cars. Of course not.

 

Well, he's right: If you're sitting behind the wheel of your Mercury Land Destroyer, you're not breathing very hard at all!

 

By his logic, we should tax joggers too.

 

I wonder where he got the idea that bikes are unhealthy? I guess I can see how they might be unhealthy if you were crash-prone...

 

Longer article here.

[MT Wallet]

Mitch, your link doesn't work for me.

 

This sounds so goofy it almost seems like a little tongue in cheek sarcasm. If I just didn't breathe I'd cut down on my CO2

[doc47]

By his logic, we should tax joggers too. grin

 

Most joggers appear thoroughly taxed.

[4wheeldog]

My first thought was "Gee, April 1st must be early this year."

 

But then I realized that this is par for the course, with politicians that hate science.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Mitch, your link doesn't work for me.

 

Link is correct; it's possible the blog has been overwhelmed by visitors who are seeking confirmation for the whole ridiculous thing.

 

Most joggers appear thoroughly taxed.

 

[RonStewart]

And this in Seattle. If you tick off the cyclists, you are not going to get re-elected.

[tallman]

And this in Seattle. If you tick off the cyclists, you are not going to get re-elected.

 

 

didn't they just legalize po'ing the cyclists

or something

something was legalized

oh yeah

that might explain this

[Bud]

And yet we re-elect them 95% of the time.

 

Who is to blame?

[kmac]

Is it April 1st already???? How long have I been napping?

 

Somebody call Al Gore...we have finally found proof of global warmings causation...File a law suit quick. Sue Schwinn.

 

I have an Idea...Fart Jar tax!!!

All those green house gasses from Taco Bell luches have GOT to be taxable.

 

 

 

 

[elkroeger]

Actually, that district is south of Olympia. Maybe 1/3 of the way to Portland OR.

 

I sent the esteemed representative Orcutt an email which asked for his resignation (even though he's not actually my representative). Much to my surprise, he replied with an apology! Or should I say his assistant replied. I wondered to myself if his mother actually wrote the apology.

 

[elkroeger]

Here's an email that I sent to Mr. Orcutt. Part of his solution is to put a $25 sales tax on bicycles over $500 to pay for infrastructure.

 

"You see, Mr Orcutt, the problem is this: We, bicyclists DO PAY FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. My wife and I also own two cars, and two motorcycles, a condo in seattle, etc. etc. We pay taxes to build roads. We use them. We also ride bicycles.

 

It takes a very special person, I'm sure it's a very small percentage of the population in general, who can live without owning a car, and only ride a bicycle. Still, a 20 lb. bicycle has virtually zero wear and tear on the roads, compared to a 2000, 5000... lb. car. Actually, based on gross weight, it is very close to a pedestrian (I weight 205lbs. My bike weighs 18lbs. So that's less than a 10% increase in weight.). And here's the thing: Sidewalks abound. Is there a user fee or a pedestrian "shoe tax"? Hell no. That is ludicrous, even though your vehicle tax went into building that sidewalk. It's part of the road. And we put them in because society benefits from the construction of sidewalks so pedestrians can walk down the street in relative safety.

 

Now, if you want to do something neat - lets look at education. People with kids get a big tax break on their federal return. BUT, the school system is paid for by property taxes. I have property and no kids. Why do I pay for education? How about if parents didn't get that federal tax break, and that money went to education? Do you see the disconnect? They're always complaining their kid's teachers are crappy and poorly paid....

 

The answer is that society in general benefits from education, regardless of whether you're actually a student. Buy that argument, or not, as you like, but it's the same answer for bicycles. Society benefits when people ride bicycles, just like when they use sidewalks and schools. I won't go into the benefits, as I could fill a book. Dozens of books....

 

You should try riding a bike some time. You might shake loose a few cobwebs in your brain."

[Marty Hill]

Good on you, great letter.

[Quinn]

I'd have thrown the subsidies that public transportation gets for keeping cars off the roads into the mix. Maybe you could talk him into giving cyclists some money.

 

Only argument I could see in his favor would be that bikes slow down cars who therefore emit polutents for a longer period of time.

 

-----

 

 

[Mike]

I used to ride a bicycle, but then I developed a conscience.

[eddd]

No more sex for Representative Orcutt. We wouldn't want him emitting any extra CO2.

[Fubar]

First they take the bikes.

 

Then the treadmills.

 

Where will the madness end....

When we are all too fat to fit into our SUVs and too weak to walk out of the house.

 

I'm gonna go ride my bike just to piss him off.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

If we're going to charge based on "use", then we'd have to define what "use" means. If it's the space occupied on the roadway, well, it seems a lot less for bikes than for cars. Michigan gasoline tax is 19 cents per gallon, which I'd guess works out to a little under a penny a mile for cars. So how much space does a bike occupy, compared to a car? 1/8? So tax them at 0.125 cents per mile. Ride 1500 miles in a year? I did that once when I was 22. It's a lot; most people don't ride that much. If you did, your tax would be $1.87. If every cyclist paid that amount to receive a bicycle license, I'm pretty sure all of it would be consumed in administrative overhead and police activity required to implement, manage and enforce a bicycle-licensing program.

 

Want to prorate road taxes based on who does the most damage? Road damage scales to the fourth power of vehicle weight; bicycle taxes should be far less than $1.87, and trucks should be taxed far more than they currently are.

[kmac]

Elk,

I know you asked me not to reply to your post, but I am in agreement with you so I thought it would be cool.

 

That is great logic.

I am a parent and never understood why I get a tax BREAK for making a baby. Best thing I ever did was have my daughter, but why do I get paid for that?

 

Not saying China is right, but they limit the amount of children a couple can have, but here we pay people to have kids...???

 

Chinas economy is growing and we are in a reccesion, arguably a depression. They limit children and we encourage it.

 

Has anyone ever seen the movie "Idiocracy"?

The movie is over all dumb and silly, but the social commentary on where society is headed with breeding practices and education is awesome.

 

I wonder how many kids this Orcutt guy has? {side thought there}

[barryd]

I would glady pay road use taxes for my bicycle even equal to my car's tax if it would get people like rep. Orcutt to shut up about bicycles using the roads for "free".

I guess the answer to Paul's question is, as stupid as you can imagine, and then some.

 

 

[elkroeger]

1/8?... your tax would be $1.87.

 

I get taxed on gross tonnage here. Even my motorbike has some kind of weight surcharge, although I'm sure it's not much more than a minimum amount. So if my car weighs 2000 lbs., and my bike weighs 20, we'd pay 1% of car rates. What is that, roughly an order of magnitude less than your $1.87... Hell, I'll give the tax man a whole quarter!

[elkroeger]

Kmac - I'll admit I was annoyed. But I got it off my chest, and it's over. no worries. Come on up, I'll buy you a beer. You might have to put up with a bud or coors the first round or two, but I'm buying just the same. :-)

[Gregori]

The more this Orcutt character says, the more certain I become that we've found the long lost partner of Tweedle-dee...

[kmac]

Thanks Elk, I am glad.

I will buy round 2. No Bud for me though. Coors for sure.

 

For all here...I find it wierd how basically a "political" topic has brought everyone in agreement...very rare.

 

You KNOW someone is DUMB when ALL political parties do not like your idea...lol