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London’s $3,840 Clunker Tax

Posted September 01, 2023

Matt Insley

By Matt Insley

London’s $3,840 Clunker Tax

Furious Londoners are venting their frustration on traffic cameras…

ProlificSolutions Tweet

So what’s the deal with traffic cams? (I mean, besides the obvious.)

Send your opinions to, feedback@newsyoucanacton.com

Your Rundown for Friday, September 1, 2023...

The Working Poor? Get Poorer

For some context, sweeping “Ultra Low Emissions Zone” rules went into effect in the U.K.'s capital city, which “levies a 12.50 pound (about $16) daily charge on most gas cars and vans built before 2006 and on pre-2015 diesel vehicles,” Associated Press notes. 

“Introduced in central London in 2019, it was expanded in 2021 to the city's inner suburbs. [Starting] Tuesday it covers all of Greater London, including the sprawling outer suburbs where more than half the city's 9 million people live. 

“Critics say it's a cash grab that will penalize suburban residents who depend on their cars for work and essential travel,” AP says.

Protest organizer Nick Arlett adds: “The cameras are going to keep coming down. People are angry.” 

The cameras in question “work by scanning your vehicle's number plate and checking if it is compliant or not within the low emission zone,” says the Hampstead & Highgate Express. Presumably, they track and/or levy fines as well. 

Anna Austen, who depends on her 15-year old diesel-powered vehicle to shuttle her kids to school and herself to work, says: “I have no money to pay the fines, I have no money to replace my car. 

“It’s going to make poor people poorer,” she says. 

At the equivalent of $80 per work week… $320 per month… and $3,840 per year… we can’t argue with her logic. 

[Just so you know, there will be no Rundown issue Monday; I’ll be taking Labor Day off. But I’ll be back on track come Wednesday… Have a great holiday weekend!]

Market Rundown for Friday, Sept. 1, 2023

The S&P 500 is up 0.58% to 4,542. 

Oil’s up 0.84% to $84.33 for a barrel of WTI. 

Gold is up 0.57% to $1,977.20 per ounce. 

And Bitcoin’s up 0.51% to $26,057.50. 

Send your comments and questions to, feedback@newsyoucanacton.com

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