Did you know there was a tax break for those who bicycle to work in the Energy Bill working its way through Congress? There was -- $20/month for bicycle commuters. It just was stripped out in the Senate, which I think is a good thing. How do you enforce such a tax break? What if someone rides their bike 15 days out of the month, but not 20? What if they're sick a couple of days and have to take their car?
What about telecommuters? They're using even less resources than bicycle commuters -- why shouldn't they get an even bigger tax break?
What if you don't like arriving at work dripping in sweat or drenched in rain? What if you have children you need to drop off on your way to work? What if you're disabled and can't bike -- why should you be subsidizing other's transportation choices?
By all means, bike to work if you want. It's good for you, it's good for your town, and it's good for the planet. But can't that be enough? To we have to micromanage behavior and everyday simple choices like this via the tax code? Please.
PS: And, yes, let's get rid of Hummer tax loopholes and all of that, too.
No tax breaks for biking to work? OK then, how about no tax subsidies for road and bridge construction and maintenance (no, your gas taxes do not pay the whole freight). How about no tax money to build parking lots? How about no tax money for automobile research or tax credits to the car companies? How about instead, we tax the automobile for the damage done to the environment, or the 40,000 deaths per year, or the untold injuries, and the cost of that to society? I drive a car and I ride a bike, and I'm all for some leveling of the playing field. Don't spout off when you have NO idea what you're talking about :)
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