The car tab initiative is the only Eyman-sponsored initiative I have voted for. It passed shortly after I first came to Washington. For me, it was a no-brainer at the time, given the alternative, which was having to pay about $600 to register my 1996 Honda Civic. That excise tax was the sort of thing we kicked the Brits out of this country over, and it needed to go.

That said, $30 (or the slightly larger amount we are paying now) is clearly not cutting it. Roads everywhere are getting worse, and car tabs being too cheap is arguably the key thing keeping us from fixing more of them. I would be in favor of slight increases for everybody, with larger increases for larger vehicles. In my mind, the ones doing the most damage to the roads should be the ones paying the most to maintain them. To be clear, I'm not advocating for a return to the old excise tax system (or anything too close to it), but I do think we are getting off too cheap. When I lived in Texas (1990s), I paid something like $70/yr. to register my cars, and it didn't kill me. We should probably be paying something slightly more than that amount, considering the complications associated with building roads and highways in our region (namely lots and lots of water and mountains to be negotiated).

Jgrizzle's point is well taken. We can pay for infrastructure through infrastructure use fees or we can pay for it by some other means. Frankly, I'd rather have it itemized as what it actually pays for, as that keeps things logical for us citizen folk and prevents politicians from diverting funds we think we are allocating to one critical service to something else (or worse, to their own pet projects).

I'm less gung ho on taxes that feed the General Fund without a clear purpose, like the candy and soda tax. I would argue that candy and soda (in moderation) contain nutrients vital to a happy childhood. I don't put them on the same level as non-medicinal drugs like alcohol and tobacco, the taxes on which I don't like but can't honestly argue with. Rather, I would like to see general fund monies itemized to their allocated purposes. Let's call a spade a spade (or a school tax a school tax, as the case may be). And for Christ's sake, let's start thinking twice before we approve everything Tim Eyman dangles in front of our noses as a surefire savings for the average citizen. More money today, while it may buy you an extra latte each week, isn't necessarily the way to a better tomorrow.