On Tue, 6 Jan 2009 07:49:05 -0800, "John R. Carroll"
wrote:


"Wes" wrote in message
...
(Edward A. Falk) wrote:

Amen to that. Fuel should be taxed at *least* enough to pay the costs
of maintaining the roads and all the other collective costs of
automobiles.

My understanding is that the taxpayers subsidize private cars to the tune
of $3000-5000 per year per car. That just sounds like bad economic and
environmental policy to me.


How many taxpayers do not own private cars?

In 1970, less than 6 percent of American households owned three or more
vehicles, according to the Department of Transportation. By 2000, that
percentage had jumped to 18.

More than 244 million vehicles were in operation in 2006, far outnumbering
the 202 million licensed drivers in the country, according to the most
recent federal statistics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/business/06auto.html


JC

----------
According to the latest numbers I could find, there are 1.05
vehicles [cars or light trucks, not including motorcycles] per
person in the US, with a high of 1.82 per person in Wyoming to a
low of 0.48 in D.C.

The unusual thing is that the per capita vehicle ownership
decreases as the per capita GDP income increases, possible
because higher income individuals tend to be concentrated in
congested areas where cars are less useful.

For data and regression chart in xls format click on
http://mcduffee-associates.us/PE/vehiclespercap.xls


Unka' George [George McDuffee]
-------------------------------------------
He that will not apply new remedies,
must expect new evils:
for Time is the greatest innovator: and
if Time, of course, alter things to the worse,
and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better,
what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman.
Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).