Fees for state parks should be ‘pay as you go’

Bob Shue, Henderson

Monday, April 4, 2011 | 2:02 a.m.

If funding for state parks doesn’t cover expenses, then raise the fees for the people who use the facilities. Don’t charge people extra taxes — in the form of higher vehicle registration fees, as proposed by state Sen. John Lee — to pay for someone else to benefit from.

The $3 tax added to vehicle registration could, and would, be raised every time more money is needed for park expenses.

There are other viable alternatives, such as higher use fees for those who use the facilities, or only open the parks on the number of days that funding allows. The parks, as well as other things in our lives, should be on a “pay as you go” system.

We don’t need any more taxes imposed on us to pay for everyone else — that’s one of the reasons the states and this country are in the financial trouble that we’re in.