However it is the use of political force to eliminate peoples freedom of choice, and compel them to drive only the approved class of vehicle that is socialist.
I don't think I've ever supported using political force to ban SUVs altogether. However I don't really see the issue with finding a way to force their owners to pay for the negative externalities they'd otherwise avoid the cost of. Everything from decreased safety of non-SUV drivers (we've seen this attempted in increased liability insurance rates), to the negative effects of increased fuel use (increased dependence on foreign oil, environmental impacts, both could be addressed though increased taxes on gasoline), to all the little things like decreased visibility for non-SUV drivers (could also be addressed through insurance, since it can raise accident rates as a whole, or through registration fees, or other ways that I don't care to come up with since you're not going to agree anyway).
Or you could just tax SUVs directly, but I think it's probably better to somehow tax their
use than ownership, since it's entirely possible I might own an SUV as an extra vehicle that I only take out once a year for camping trips, at which point I'm not causing nearly the negative externalities of somebody who drives it alone to work every day.
Anyway, there's nothing "socialist" about in trying to get people to pay for the full cost of their activities.
EDIT: As an aside, I'd really only favor
taxes to regulate such externalities if the funds collected were actually used to somehow address them...anything from alternative fuel research to environmental cleanup to mass transit solutions. Which, of course, would never actually happen but us commies can dream, can't we?
Those things would probably be a big hit in Berkley, CA......
Been to the Bay Area, they seem to love their Mini Coopers there. Shinier than the Trabant, and I'd wager a
lot more fun to drive (I've driven the former, but not the latter). Pricey, I suppose, but at that point I think a VW would be easier to find parts for than a Trabant.
EDIT: Former? Latter? I'm confused, and I
wrote it, so I figure I'm not the only one. But yeah, I've driven the Cooper.