Dana notes that some "high-powered Democratic members of the State Assembly nixed the plan on the grounds that it would disproportionately punish low-income residents of the outer-boroughs, who need their cars to commute." My question: how many low-income residents from the other boroughs drive into lower or midtown Manhattan rather than taking mass transit? And of that fraction, how many "need" to drive rather than having a viable mass transit option? I would be extremely surprised if it the first percentage was remotely high enough, and the second remotely low enough, to make the tax regressive on balance. This isn't to say that a tax that focused on the size and fuel efficiency of cars isn't a very good idea; it would indeed both make drivers whose choices produce greater negative exernalities to pay more and make the tax more progressive. But this doesn't really seem like a good reason to vote against the plan on the table. Once a congestion pricing system is in place, it can be adusted to more precisely line up with its goals.
--Scott Lemieux
