"Bicycles are bad for environment, and need to be taxed"

Washington State Senate Democrats recently produced a $10 billion transportation package which supports a raise on gas taxes, car tabs, and even a $25 tax on bicycles that cost more than $500.

In an email to Dale Carlson, owner of Bike Tech in Tacoma, Washington Rep. Ed Orcutt (R), a member of the State Transportation Committee, defended the idea of a bike tax by saying, "Sorry, but I do think that bicyclists need to start paying for the roads they ride on rather than make motorists pay."

“When you are riding your bicycle, tell me what taxes are being generated by the act of riding your bicycle,” Orcutt said to the Seattle Bike Blog.

Yet Orcutt's main support for the tax comes from his belief that riding a bicycle is worse than driving a car for the environment.

"A cyclists [sic] has an increased heart rate and respiration. That means that the act of riding a bike results in greater emissions of carbon dioxide from the rider. Since CO2 is deemed to be a greenhouse gas and a pollutant, bicyclists are actually polluting when they ride," he said.

Continues: http://www.examiner.com/article/wash-state-politician-says-b...