Increased fees are not fair, they're just easier

Mr. Keyes believes increasing car registration fees is a no-brainer. Let's look a little closer.

Raising registration fees makes a grandmother on a fixed income who drives 4,000 miles per year pay the same for road maintenance as someone with a two-ton pickup who drives 30,000 miles. That doesn't seem fair. Raising fees won't raise enough revenue to properly maintain the roads. That doesn't seem adequate.

However, raising gas taxes, slowly and steadily over several years, would:

? Make those who use the roads the most pay the most to maintain them (seems fair).

? Encourage people to make different choices about the vehicles they buy, and how they use them, based on the cost to operate them, using less imported oil and helping the environment (seem like good ideas).

Gas taxes are a user fee. Those who use the roads more, pay more. What could be fairer?

People are responsible for the decisions they make. If you choose to drive a large or inefficient vehicle, or find a job a long way from home, you must live with the consequences (and costs) of those decisions. You can make decisions to reduce these costs. Low local unemployment makes shorter commutes possible today.

The argument for raising registration fees is that it doesn't require any legislative courage. It's certainly not fair to those who don't drive a lot; unless it's based on vehicle weight (heavy vehicles damage the roads more).

It's not a no-brainer or fair. It's just easy.

STEVE TEMPLE

Sandpoint