Posted on 02/27/2007 5:25:40 AM PST by Brilliant
Lou Dobbs recently griped on his popular CNN show that parts of the Interstate highway system "built with your tax dollars are now being sold to the highest bidder. And incredibly, it's being done with the federal government's encouragement." Worse, according to America's loudest economic nationalist: "Some of the leading bidders: foreign investors."
I was interviewed for this segment and pointed out, helpfully I thought, that a Spanish company sinking $7 billion into new highways in Texas, meanwhile creating thousands of U.S. jobs, is the very antithesis of protectionists' dreaded "outsourcing." But that tidbit was left on the cutting-room floor.
Mr. Dobbs and others are riled up, but the public-private toll road partnerships sweeping the nation promise to revitalize our highway system. It's a seismic shift in the way roads are financed and managed -- the biggest change since the launch of the Interstate system 50 years ago. In these deals, investor-owned companies pay for the right to design, finance, build, operate, maintain and rebuild an existing or new toll road. In return they get the right to collect tolls on the road for 50 to 99 years.
Headlines may scream "New Jersey Turnpike for Sale!" but highways are not "sold" under these concessions. The government still owns the roads and the contracts spell out exactly what the company can -- and must -- do. The deals (whether for a new or existing road) typically include limits on allowable toll increases and rates of return...
Private roads aren't exactly new: In the 19th century, private toll roads provided much of England and America's pre-auto-era highway capacity...
The re-emergence of this model in the U.S. has been driven by a transportation system burdened with pork projects and funded by gas taxes that fail to keep up with construction and maintenance costs...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
It isn't private enterprise. It's the govt leasing assets already paid for with taxpayer dollars to private companies so you can pay twice for the privelege of driving on roads you already paid for.
Lou Dobbs has turned into kind of a nut, imo.
Or maybe he's just tapping into American concerns right now with regard to immigration and seeing ratings and $$.
When I read that Chris Ruddy recently came out and decided maybe the Clinton years weren't so bad after all, I realized a lot of these guys just blow with the wind and don't have any core values at all.
I remember when Ronald Reagan and other conservatives were in favor of privatizing non-essential governmental functions. [misty-eyed sigh]
As opposed to paying to doing the same thing via taxes, whether you use that road or not.
Yep. That's exactly what Fast Eddie Rendell is trying to do with the Pennsylvania Turnpike...
EXACTLY!!!!
Say it again - "It isn't private enterprise. It's the govt leasing assets already paid for with taxpayer dollars to private companies so you can pay twice for the privelege of driving on roads you already paid for."
And again - "It isn't private enterprise. It's the govt leasing assets already paid for with taxpayer dollars to private companies so you can pay twice for the privelege of driving on roads you already paid for."
If you think your taxes will go down to compensate you for the increase in fees think again. Fees are the new tax increases because the politicians think we're too stupid to figure it out.
Sure, U.S. taxpayers may have already paid to have these roads built years ago doesn't make them "already paid for" at all. An asset must be maintained, rehabilitated, and (often) upgraded (or replaced) over time. The fact that you've already paid for your car doesn't mean you'll never have to change the oil, replace the brake pads, or even replace the car in its entirety.
2006 was a milestone year in the history of U.S. transportation, for it marked the 50th anniversary of the implementation of the Interstate Highway System. Much of that system has passed or is approaching the end of its useful life, and the cost of rehabilitating/replacing it is enormous. These public-private ventures may very well be the most cost-effective mechanism for building and maintaining highways over the long term.
As is usually the case, Lou Dobbs has no idea what he's talking about. If it weren't for the fact that television by definition is aimed at an audience of people with two-digit IQs, he'd barely be employable.
I wonder where you think that gasoline tax you pay for road upkeep goes? Do you think it goes to a specific fund for roads or maybe to the general fund for use on other pork projects? Do you think your gas tax will be decreased when every 50 mile stretch of interstate has a $2.00 toll?
Sometimes I wonder where folks get the idea that some new tax scheme (fees) represents anything other than what it is, just another way to take money out of the pockets of the suckers (you).
Aren't they just MAINTAINING them? Something that either the government or the private company is going to do one way or the other?
One of the complaints against Federal and State govt regarding upkeep is that the funds set aside for maintenance aren't allocated towards that because new highway projects are eating up all the revenue. Instead of shifting revenue to provide upkeep they've decided to shift the responsibility to private companies who will charge you a fee to drive on roads the various govts promised to maintain but really don't want to spend funds on. If you're a politician this idea is a godsend. You get to keep the revenue we're paying in taxes for other pork and foist off road upkeep on the public which is already paying taxes for that purpose. It's a twofer if you're a pork barrel Pol.
I have no idea where the gasoline tax revenues in your state go, but in my state (which happens to have one of the lowest fuel tax rates in the U.S.) all fuel taxes are allocated for the following purposes: 1) capital costs for new transportation projects (highway and mass transit); and 2) paying off existing bonds for previous transportation projects.
In my state (which may be typical), fuel tax revenues are NOT used for roadway maintenance. These come out of the general treasury, not the transportation trust find that is supported by the fuel taxes.
In many states, a portion of the fuel tax may also be directed into the general treasury. If that's the case in your state, then your first order of business should be to put an end to this practice. Even the Federal government does not do this anymore (since the mid-1990s).
During the early planning of the IS system, Eisenhower supported tolling. Congress won out and they became free roads.
In retrospect, the free IS system was a mistake.
It was never possible(tax wise) to fund the maintenance, etc. Consequently, the system has deteriorated to the point that just patching is very expensive. To put it back into top shape, or adequate shape, is going to be immensely expensive.
Additionally, these free roads enabled/promoted urban development that put even more demand on them.
The state that I live in does not even provide an itemized budget so it's impossible to see where any money is spent. Since the state is run by Dems I don't expect that to change.
He can't compete in the open market. He's on the leaast watched network with a low ratings show.
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