Pete Buttigieg is Biden’s new transportation secretary. Lots of people are still wondering what qualifies him for this job, but anyway…
He recently floated the idea of taxing Americans based on the number of miles they drive.
It’s an absolutely awful idea, and someone must have finally told Pete because he’s now walking it back.
Townhall reports:
Buttigieg Has an Update About His Mileage Tax Idea
Just last week Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg floated a funding idea for President Biden’s upcoming multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that would hit poor and middle-class Americans that hardest.
Buttigieg suggested a mileage tax, which is based on what he called the “user pays principle—the idea that part of how we pay for roads is you pay based on how much you drive.” Drivers would thus be hit with this tax in addition to facing steadily climbing gas prices since President Biden took office.
Now, however, he’s walking back that suggestion.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor said a mileage tax is “not part of the conversation about this infrastructure bill.”
“So just want to make sure that that’s really clear, but you will be hearing a lot more details in the coming days about how we envision being able to fund this,” Buttigieg said. “And again, these are carefully thought-through responsible ideas that ultimately are going to be a win for the economy and need to be compared to the unaffordable cost of the status quo.”
Here’s the video:
.@jaketapper: “You said also that a mileage tax showed, ‘a lot of promise’ as a way to help pay for the [infrastructure] plan … Is that under consideration?”
Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg: “No, that’s not part of the conversation about this infrastructure bill.” pic.twitter.com/zgjCfMtIbN
— The Recount (@therecount) March 29, 2021
It’s good to see Mayor Pete has come to his senses.
Watch him try to float this idea again sometime in the next four years.