As to the specifics of the transportation bill, there is plenty of room for legitimate argument. I live in the middle of a metro area with some of the worst traffic congestion in the country, and additionally I live in one of those "in the way" neighborhoods that the suburban cowboys would casually destroy to shave two minutes off their commutes. I do sympathize with suburbanites who are spending four hours a day in their cars, but the remedy is simple: they should live closer to their jobs. I tend to favor greater investment in non-automotive options to support walkable, bikeable communities. And I resent roads that become impassable barriers to all non-vehicular traffic. Your mileage may differ.
It isn’t an investment if you can’t sell it or profit from it. We’ve talked about “investing” in roads, bike paths, schools, airports, stadiums, parks, all sorts of things. Well, how about cashing in some of those “investments”?
Can’t do it, because it never was an “investment” to begin with. It was just “spending.”
Airports lose money. Highways lose money. Bike paths lose money. Transit systems lose money. The only transportation systems that make money in this country are railroads and pipelines.