fees

Double

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by Rathaphon Nanthapreecha on Pexels.com

Double. More than double. But not for your pleasure.

A new licensing fee appeared on the renewal form for the car I drive most, a hybrid. It wasn’t there last year, but appeared this year and it more than doubled the cost of registering my vehicle. There was no mention of this fee anywhere in the media, that I can find, until after the fact that it was applied to people’s licensing fees. Surprise! The cost of registering your vehicle more than doubled!

The biggest kicker, I am paying a fee for something I don’t use, an electric vehicle charging station (and those this fee is supposedly going to build). Thus the word HYBRID, meaning it powers itself by using two different types of fuel.

License fees rise for hybrid and electric cars in Washington

I tell you, bigger government means bigger fees. Always. There is never an exception to this. Ever. The problem is that many times the fees aren’t actually used for the stated purpose, nor do they totally justify the collection of the fee in the first place.

Why is the government in charge of building charging stations for electric vehicles? Why is it that those not driving plug-in cars are paying a fee to plug in a car that won’t plug in?

The epitome of what is wrong with government. I mean there is a LOT wrong with our government, at many different levels, but this is just another fine example of why so many people dislike and don’t trust the government.

Road fees

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by veeterzy on Pexels.com

Governments and their fees.

I realize that being part of a society requires some assent to a certain level of fees for the common good. That’s part of the social contract we make for living in a society.

I don’t mind paying some taxes and fees because I know that it provides for the common good. It makes life better for more people than just me. I’m someone what reasonable.

However, there comes a time when those fees become unnecessary and overbearing. Sound familiar? You might look back to one such fee that helped lead up the the American Revolution. What really gets me is that fees are being charged and collected and the government is rarely held accountable for the way the money is spent or mismanaged. That part irritates me to no end and isn’t part of the social contract. I don’t like waste. Big government wastes money. Big government isn’t accountable. Big government perpetuates bad government and bad spending.

So, to say I was shocked when I got my vehicle registration renewal yesterday might be an understatement. I have had the car for almost 2 years now and suddenly there was a new fee that wasn’t there before – a “hybrid vehicle transportation fee”. That one fee was $75! That one fee doubled the cost of the vehicle registration all by itself!

Ridiculous.

How about we stop using state funds to pay for heroin injections sites? How about we stop using state funds to pay for an idiot governor? How about we stop using state funds for things that don’t benefit the greater good? How about we stop using state funds to pay for unnecessary art in public spaces? Get the idea? There are lots of places where money is spent that it shouldn’t be.

I pay the gas tax every time I fill up. They already collect the “Vehicle Weight” fee to fund the highway on top of all the other fees.

I’ve had it.

I am going to drive on both sides of the road whenever I feel like it. I paid for it, therefore I am going to use as much of it as possible!