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To: BobL
Off topic but... Toll booths are a good idea. The Federal government has has states by the short hairs for a long time thanks to the promise of Federal highway money or the threat of its loss. Toll booths are a good way to wean a state off that dangerously abused Federal carrot.

Not to mention a toll booth is like a fair tax- you only pay for what you use.

Is it a hassle? Sure, it's annoying, but it seems a more constitutional method of raising revenue to maintain the roads than accepting federal highway funds.

30 posted on 07/08/2012 6:59:52 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa

I have no problem with tolling, as long as it’s done in a FREE MARKET.

That means, no SWEETHEART DEALS, such as using Eminent Domain to clear a right-of-way for one company to build and operate a toll road for 75 years, but not doing the same for a second or third company that wants to provide the same service (for less).

Likewise, I’m not too hot (to say the least) on non-compete clauses, which restrict any kind of parallel improvement in the “sphere-of-influence” that might take away from toll revenue.

Get rid of the above, and, I too, would be ALL FOR toll roads. In fact, that’s how airlines operate these days - no airline has a protected route and if one airline tries to overcharge, competitors move in. Show me the same for toll roads, anywhere in the world, and I’ll retract my opposition to toll roads.

But now we have the 407 ETR in Canada that has the above sweetheart deals, and they are charging 30 cents PER MILE to drive (at least 10 times what it costs to operate the road). Why - because their contract forbids competition, but allows them to charge as much as they want. That is what Perry attempted (with some success) to do to Texas. Why he embarked on that will likely never be known - although corruption is the most likely reason.

So, until toll roads actually operate in a free-market environment, I prefer to pay an essentially non-corrupt gas tax for my roads.


33 posted on 07/08/2012 7:40:00 PM PDT by BobL
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