And on a philosophical note, I almost got over my intense hatred towards toll roads. My wife had started a business that looked promising and I figured that if I could allocate an extra $5,000 per year (for both of us), I'd just stick a transponder on my car and simply buy my way to mental peace.
Well, the business didn't work out, so I'm back to trying to protect my wallets from these cash grabs.
I am an elected official, a County Commissioner in Fort Bend County (Southwest of Houston). I have to face the voters every four years.
Fort Bend County has a severe traffic problem due to our rapid growth. Currently, to address this problem, I have two choices given the federal and state funding for new roads, or rather the lack thereof. One – vote to raise everyone’s taxes and fund the roads that way. This entails using government powers to forcibly take money from taxpayers who do not want to give it up voluntarily and spend it on projects that many will not benefit from. Or, two – build a toll road and exact a toll from those who use the facility, thereby giving the individual the option of paying or not paying the “tax” depending on whether or not they use and benefit directly from the toll road.
Frankly, I prefer doing the latter.