Economist Duncan Black, who blogs under the name Atrios, sharply dismisses the Washington Post's mention of a mileage tax to replace the gasoline tax.

I'm not an economist, and I agree with some of Black's logic about both Big Brotherism and energy policy, but it seems worth mentioning that a mileage plan has been road-tested in Oregon.

The pilot program was deemed a success by the folks running it, although (policy issues aside) both the on-board and communications technologies used need improvement before it can be operated at scale.