5 ms·
If registration fees for large trucks were increased it is likely that the costs would be passed on to the consumer. We would see higher shipping fees and poten
by davek01 5y ago
If registration fees for large trucks were increased it is likely that the costs would be passed on to the consumer. We would see higher shipping fees and potentially higher prices for goods at stores.
We can debate which we'd rather pay but one way or another the cost would come down to us.
- cascom 5y agoTrue, but I think the question at hand is how do you apportion cost to those most responsible for it
- jefftk 5y agoHaving the people in a position to reduce the damage be responsible for the cost means they can make sensible decisions. Right now, for example, it makes sense to ship something much farther so you can have a really cheap distribution center outside of town, even in cases where this is more expensive overall.
- snakeboy 5y agoWouldn't this be a good economic incentive to buy more locally? Since it sounds like currently shipping costs via trucking are ignoring this externality.
- refurb 5y agoExternality? Who do you think is bringing you food and all the items you buy? Even locally? The Grenadier Guard?
- dtech 5y agoA truck damaging the road dis-proportionally is an economic externality [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality
- rocqua 5y agoCurrently the complete cost of shipping food includes road damage that is not priced into shipping but instead borne by all citizens. By making those responsible for road damage, pay for it, they have an economic incentive to stop the damage.
- refurb 5y agoNot priced into shipping, but equally borne by all tax payers. If all tax payers benefit through transportation of food and other essentials, that’s not really an externality? The people paying are the ones who benefit?
- rocqua 5y agoIt's an externality because the people who are paying aren't the people who are causing the damage. This isn't so much unfair, but it does remove incentives for the shippers to cause less damage to the roads.
- corpdronejuly 5y agoWhich might push our shipping back to more efficient ways to transport goods and services than caravans of big rigs.