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John Morrissey
Denver Traffic ExaminerJohn Morrissey knows all about Denver traffic. He has been the morning traffic reporter on KYGO for the last eight years. You’ll hear him doing traffic on KKFN, The Fan, too.
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Newest Way To Pay For Road Repairs Is An Ebenezer Scrooge Sucker Punch
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by John Morrissey, Denver Traffic Examiner
Did you hear the latest? You and I may be paying close to 100 dollars more the next time we get plates for the car. Our roads and bridges need a ton of money for repairs. One way to raise that money is to increase the fees you and I pay to get a license tag in Colorado. That is what Senate Bill 244 would do.
Here is what some of the new fees would look like if it passes.
· License fees would go up 25-dollars a year. Everyone would pay that, no matter what you drive.
· If you wanted to register a trailer, it would cost you 15-dollars more for a license plate.
· Car rental fees would also go up another $6.00.
Those fees I can agree with. You drive, you pay. I get that part.
But, there is one part of this bill that stinks because it picks on drivers who are getting hammered by higher gas prices more than anybody else. I am not talking about the people who can afford a new car and I am not talking about someone who drives a new, used car. I am talking about the drivers who are stuck driving a beater, a car that is more than 10 years old. Under this bill they would get the shaft.
Here is why.
Right now, there is a fee you pay when you get a license plate. It is based on the value of your car. As your car gets older, this fee goes down. By the time your car is ten years old, you pay about 3-dollars.
Under this bill, that fee would never go below 75-dollars. I am no math wizard, but that looks like an increase of over 200% on drivers who can least afford it.
Who are these drivers?
· The single mom who’s ex is a deadbeat and will not pay his child support.
· The single dad who IS paying his child support and sees most of what he earns go to the kids.
· The men and women who are forced, for whatever reason, to work for the minimum wage in Colorado.
Believe me, these folks are not driving that old Tempo or Sunfire with the cracked seats and the faded paint because they like how it looks. That old beater is the only wheels they can afford. And, you want them to swallow a fee increase over 200%?
Look, I agree that our roads and bridges stink and I know the only way to fix them is with a ton of money. That money has to come from somewhere and maybe, raising license fees is part of the answer.
But, c’mon. Have a heart. If you are going to pump up the fees, do not pick on those who are already losing the battle with their bills each week.
Make me pay 75-dollars more a year, instead.
Oh, I am definitely NOT made of money. If I ever had a silver spoon, I would have hocked it a long time ago. I am just like you, another stuggling bozo on the "gotta go to work everyday" bus. Raising my license plate fees another $75 will make me scream and yell, but but by the grace of you know who, I can afford it a lot more than somebody who is stuck driving an old car that is one step away from the figure 8 race at Colorado National Speedway.
Oh, I am definitely NOT made of money. If I ever had a silver spoon, I would have hocked it a long time ago. I am just like you, another stuggling bozo on the "gotta go to work everyday" bus. Raising my license plate fees another $75 will make me scream and yell, but but by the grace of you know who, I can afford it a lot more than somebody who is stuck driving an old car that is one step away from the figure 8 race at Colorado National Speedway.
Picking on them may be easy, but it does not make it right.
What is your name, anyway?
Ebenezer Scrooge?
What is your name, anyway?
Ebenezer Scrooge?
Topics: gas prices , road repairs
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