Don't Be Fooled - Congestion Pricing = Interstate Toll Taxes

Fellow Americans...........Please take the time to learn more about our Federal Transportation Policy...............

Here is the link to the Press Release for H.R. 3 "Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users" TEA-LU http://www.house.gov/transportation/press/press2005/release9.html

It reports that mass transit is up 21% and it has increased funding for mass transit by 51%. This is being done while expanding toll taxes to our Interstate highway system. In other words, the funding for highways is going down while taxes to motorist are going up. This is highway robbery against the motorist, but the motorist is not the only one who will ultimately pay a big price for the toll road tax scam. Middle-class America and those on fixed incomes will pay the most for this tax scam. Toll taxes are regressive and will increase the cost of living for lower and middle class Americans.

In the press release, they want us to applaud Chairman Don Young for his "leadership", but I don't think so. Based on my research of Representative Don Young of Alaska, the only Americans that benefit from his work are those in the state of Alaska. I would expect a Representative to represent their constituency, but not at the expense of all Americans. I personally don't call that leadership - I call it reckless disregard for the welfare of the American people. Rep. Young claims to be a republican, but is spending habits are extremely liberal and reckless - have you ever heard of the "Bridges to Nowhere"? They are being constructed in Alaska. Is that the type of leadership America needs to solve our transportation problems - I don't think so.

The press release includes the link to the 782 page bill. Needless to say, I have not read this bill in it's entirety, but at a glance anyone can see that this is a perfect example of an out-of-control Federal government. The bill starts out by stating.......

"A BILL To authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes."

****Please note "and for other purposes"**** This means more pork for the politicians to waste. For example: Sec 3036 - Updated terminology and Sec 1503 - Private Investment Study, Sec 1405 Safety incentive grants for use of seat belts, Sec 1406 - Safety incentives to prevent operation of motor vehicles by intoxicated persons, Sec 4121 - Insulin treated diabetes mellitus, Sec 1112 - Construction of Ferry Boats and Ferry Terminals, Sec - 1117 Recreational Trails, Sec 1601 - Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (I can only imagine what that really means), and of course the toll road scam Sec - 1603 - Interstate System construction and rehabilitation toll pilot program, Sec 1604 - Interstate System construction toll pilot program, not to mention Sec 1605 - Use of excess funds. As stated earlier, I have not read this bill in its entirety, but I am highly suspicious of the way our transportation dollars are being spent and who is reaping the rewards of an out-of-control Federal government.

Sec 1209 - Congestion pricing pilot program. This is another name to "Toll Taxes". They plan to spend/fund/waste $15 million per year on this pilot program. They (DC Politicians) know that citizens oppose tolls taxes on our Interstate highways. So, in order to blindside the taxpayers, they put another name on it. Please don't be fooled by these deceiving tactics. This section starts on page 145. This will allow 25 "pilot programs". This bill includes "Reduced Tolls for Low-Income Drivers". They changed the bill language from "Value Pricing" to "Congestion Pricing". It is all a marketing scam to fully implement a toll tax across our Interstate highways. The politicians will brainwash taxpayers into believing that this is a good thing. PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THE POLITICAL BRAINWASHING. As a fiscal conservative, toll roads mean higher taxes and bigger government. As an informed American, the "reduced tolls for low income" clause proves that this is a regressive tax. The end result is that the middle-class will pay the biggest price. This tax not only increases the taxes paid by hard working Americans, it will also substantial increase the cost of living and that impacts the middle-class and low-income citizens the most.

The short title for this bill is "Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users".

It sounds like typical political brainwashing and propaganda to me - what do you think?

Special Note to Floridians......... As any Central Florida motorists knows, toll roads increase our taxes, reduce our disposable income, redirect funds from the local economy to the state, increase the size of Florida government and increases traffic congestion due to limited access to the "Lexus Expressway System". The last thing we need in Florida is tolls on our Interstates while elected officials divert transportation taxes to non-transportation expenses. Florida Toll roads are highway robbery - plain and simple. The "user fee" and "congestion pricing" is nothing more than political propaganda and the people should beware.

U.S. Representative John Mica is on the U.S. Transportation Committee and will be addressing our transportation issues on Monday, February 14th from 8:30-9:30 am, at 315 E Robinson St, Ste 355, Orlando, FL, 407-481-5672. In the past, Rep Mica has stated that he is against tolls on I-4. I want to see what his commitment is to building FREEWAYS in Central Florida and an I-4 Bypass like most major cities have. Floridians pay taxes everyday at the gas pump (3 levels - Fed, State and County gas taxes), in addition to the multiple taxes on tires, oil products, automobile registration, automobile sales tax, etc. etc. The FREEWAY is not FREE - WE PAY FOR IT EVERYDAY!! The decision to increase our taxes via Interstate toll road taxes is outrageous and reckless disregard for the welfare of the people and our economy. The Interstate highway system is critical to our economy and elected officials should not be allowed to abuse their authority with this type of regressive taxation. Middle class America would be better off with reinstating the tax cuts than the increased taxes for the highways and the increased cost of living that will be realized with this abusive tax.

Bottom line......... If you believe in higher taxes and bigger government - you should support toll taxes. If you believe in regressive taxes that are unfair to lower and middle-class Americans - you should support toll taxes. If you believe in uncontrolled/reckless spending by elected officials - you should support toll taxes.

If you believe in fair taxation and promoting the general welfare of all Americans (as stated in the preamble of our Constitution) - you cannot support toll taxes.

Here is the link to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure http://www.house.gov/transportation/

Sincerely, Sally Baptiste A Citizen for Ethics and Accountability in Government A Citizen for Reform in Transportation and Governmental Spending 3936 S Semoran Blvd, PMB #351, Orlando, FL 32822

----- Original Message ----- From: Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 9:33 AM Subject: Highway-Transit Reauthorization Bill Introduced

The leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced H.R. 3, "The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users" (TEA LU) yesterday. The bill would provide $283.9 billion in guaranteed funding for highways and transit. It does not include language for the Minimum Guarantee program or specify the project earmarks which will likely be added when the full Committee considers the bill.

A Press Release is available at: http://www.house.gov/transportation/press/press2005/release9.html

The bill text is available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/ by entering bill number H.R. 3.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- TranPlan News is a service of the Florida Department of Transportation, Office of Policy Planning. To subscribe or unsubscribe to TranPlan News, please visit http://www.dot.state.fl.us/planning/news ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a canned response that I have to the lively discussion that we've been having about toll roads in Texas.

Feel free to comment...

While people may think that toll roads don't affect the people who don't use them, and that all (or even most) of the toll money is actually recycled back into the highway system, consider the following:

(1) The factors that are really critical in determining whether Texans are about to get shafted with this plan are missing. In particular, look for any links regarding contract details, state law, or anything else that may protect Texans. Other than some fluffy words, it is those details and the state law that will determine whether Texas build the greatest highway system, or becomes the laughing stock of the nation (right now, my vote is on the second).

(2) The government will be TAKING huge amounts of land from private landowners, and virtually giving over to a private company, Cintra (based in Spain), so that the company can build a toll road and probably be able to charge whatever the market will bear – as they do today in Canada. (technically speaking, we are being told that the concession is for 50 years, but we will not know for sure until we see the contract – and 50 years of being robbed is a long time)
http://best.enigmati.ca/trans-action/200501/4601.html#start

(3) Speaking of Canada. Cintra now charges cars 19.5 US cents per mile if they have a transponder, and 23 US cents per mile (or more) if the do not have a transponder (these are peak rates, non-peak rates are about 1 cent less). Large Trucks are now charged 58 US cents per mile (peak) and 52 US cents per mile (non-peak). For the length of the highway, this is the highest toll rate in North America, and possibly the world. Cintra has won court rulings assuring them the right to continue raising tolls at will, and there NOTHING Canada can do to stop them for the next 95 years or so. Will trucks in Texas use Cintra’s toll road? It’s hard to see how, considering that the toll will be higher than many of the drivers make in the first place. These are the rates (in Canadian cents per kilometer) that Cintra charges in Canada, bottom half of this web page:
http://www.407etr.com/tolls/tolls.asp

(4) If you think that is high, another experiment with a private monopoly being allowed to charge whatever it wanted was done in California. In that case, 2 toll lanes (each way, 10 miles long) were added to the totally packed SH-91 freeway, east of Los Angeles. The toll lane operator actually prevented the state from doing a badly-needed upgrade of a nearby state-owned highway section (using its monopoly clause). It got so ugly, that Orange County had to buy the toll lanes, just to be able to do the upgrade. By the way, those lanes now charge 70 cents per mile, for cars, at peak drive times.
http://www.91expresslanes.com/tollschedules.asp
http://bicycleaustin.info/rogerbaker/tollroad-failure.html
(read the LA Times article, just over halfway down – ignore the rest of the page, it’s a left-wing site)

(5) The contract between Texas and Cintra is being negotiated and signed in SECRET. Here in Texas, Governor Perry is signing away the future of Texans (see next item), without anyone even getting to see the deal. Most governors don’t have this level of power, and the ones that do would NEVER use it this recklessly.

(6) It has been virtually promised to Cintra that they will be able to prevent ANY upgrades to STATE-OWNED highways, anywhere near their toll road. This is classic MONOPOLISTC protection, which means that the free market has been jettisoned – and replaced by a very scary collaboration of big business and big government. Market forces are not simply not possible with surface transportation, due to right-of-away issues – the question really becomes whether private companies should be able to prevent the state from doing what it needs to do on state-owned highways. Most people in this country can easily see the disaster up ahead, except supporters of Governor Perry. Note this quote from Ric Williamson, head of the Texas Transportation Commission: “…we fully expect that there will be limitations on our ability, at some point in the future, to compete with the road…” The road being Cintra’s. There certainly will be monopolistic provisions. You can find the quote buried in this transcript.
http://www.dot.state.tx.us/transcom/transcripts/1204.htm

(7) The combined state and federal gas tax in Texas is about 2 cents per mile (or 40 cents per gallon, for a car getting 20 miles per gallon). For ONE extra cent per mile (or 20 cents per gallon), Texas could easily build the FREEWAYS that it needs.

(8) State-built toll roads can work, providing that politicians are honest about how they spend the money. The State of Kentucky built a large network of toll roads, but put all of the excess toll revenue back into paying off the roads. The result: the roads got paid off much earlier than expected, and now 80% of them are freeways, and the rest charge about 2 CENTS PER MILE. However, this is the exception. In Houston, once they had a surplus, they diverted it. First to buying a toll bridge that was nearly in default (and bailing it out), then by using the money to plan new toll roads, and finally by simply diverting the money completely out of the toll road system (when they were sure no one was looking). For a state with as much corruption as Texas (just look at this SECRET deal with Cintra), toll roads are simply another way for politicians and the well-connected (like Cintra) to rob the people.
http://www.kytc.state.ky.us/toll/Natcher.htm
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2994429

(9) Do toll roads increase property values and encourage development. NO, if you look at how people in the real world reacted when told that their freeway would now be a toll road. It’s real easy for the Libertarians at think tanks like Cato, Heritage, and Reason to publish white papers that essentially state that toll roads are equivalent to the second coming of Ronald Reagan. But the real world is outside of Think Tanks. The following article describes how a group of property owners (developers in this case) rescinded their offer to DONATE land to the state of Texas when they were told that their planned freeway (the Grand Parkway, a large loop around Houston) would instead be a toll road. While the Think Tanks may be have been telling them that they would become rich, their own decision to now force the state to BUY their land shows the real price of toll roads. (the article that follows is a bit tough to follow, but it confirms what did happen)
http://mypeoplepc.com/members/chrisodonnell/unitedtosaveourspring/id11.html

(10) Toll Roads are inherently inefficient. They require their own complicated system for identifying and tracking vehicles, and sometimes drivers. This adds greatly to the cost of tolls. Whereas the gas tax is already in place, thus no extra charge to collect more money. For example, if $10 needs to be collected using tolling, then $15 in tolls must be collected, with the other $5 paying for the toll collection system. With the gas tax, if $10 is needed, simply increase the gas tax so that it collects another $10. Real easy.

(11) Toll Roads are unfair. You force people to pay HUGE amounts of money to drive on certain roads, while giving a free pass on other roads (and when you do the math, you realize that 20 cents per mile, for an average car, is like paying an EXTRA $4.00 per gallon for gas). Considering that the goal should be get people ON to limited access highways, rather than PUNISHING them for doing so, one can only conclude that toll roads, as they exist today, are totally counterproductive. In fact, to be really fair, the limited access roads should be free, and the surface streets should be tolled – that way you encourage people to stop clogging up local streets and traffic lights. But we are tolled where it is convenient, not where it makes sense.

(12) Big Brother. Look for yourself, not a word about protection of privacy when you travel the Harris County toll roads or use their transponders. On the other hand, they don’t mind collecting your phone number, driver’s license number, social security number, and either bank account or credit card number (so they can pull the money out automatically). What can they do with the information. Well if you use a transponder, it’s likely that some little guy at headquarters can pull-up the information real-time and figure out when you and your wife are both 20 miles away from home (i.e., your house is empty), and call up one of their “friends”. Just an example. It used to be that privacy protection mattered to Republicans and Libertarians, I guess not with toll roads. Go through this site and their transponder application, see if there’s anything about protecting your privacy.
http://www.hctra.com/

(13) CONCLUSION - Tolls are NOT needed. They are a very inefficient way to collect huge amounts of money from the WRONG people. The gas tax has worked fine, it simply has no way to index itself for inflation. In Texas at least (and probably other growing states), an increase in the gas tax is necessary to build the roads necessary to keep traffic moving. Unfortunately, this governor will not do that, instead he is mortgaging away the future of Texas to a private company with no interest other than making us all look like idiots (as they did in Canada).

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