McBlogger and I disagree down the line on tolls.
I understand his and many others' opposition to tolling existing, free roads and to the privatization of our highways, but these arguments against tolling new roads just don't make any sense:
Telling people not to use toll roads if they don't want to and then building them is almost like telling people not to breathe if they don't want to. They are going to be hurt.
Why? Because we all will be paying toll road TAXES even if we "don't use them".
How? We will pay the extra tolls at the cash register when we purchase goods and services because businesses will divert their toll costs onto the consumer. It's common-sense.
I don't think it's commonsense at all. Commonsense tells us that businesses won't incur costs for new toll roads. At worst, no one will use the toll roads, and businesses will face exactly the same costs as before. New roads can hurt existing businesses by blocking access or diverting customers to other, now more convenient locations. But this is a side effect of new roads, too, and it isn't McBlogger's complaint anyway.
In addition, toll roads are long-term debts that our children's grandchildren will continue to pay.
True, if the tolls don't cover all of the long-term debt. But free roads incur larger long-term debt because the public has to cover all of the cost. If we're worried about our great-grandchildren, we should toll all roads.
Lastly, if you think toll roads are the panacea for all our roadway, traffic and pollution ills, you are grossly mistaken. Just look at the long-time toll roads in tolling meccas like CA, NY, FL, etc., and you will see that not only do they still have the same issues and problems, but new ones have been created directly due to the building and maintenance of toll roads and plazas.
Toll roads don't have to be a panacea for congestion and pollution; they just have to be better than free roads. They are.
He also complains about the use of Eminent Domain and providing "wealthy special interests" more avenues for profiting at our expense. But Eminent Domain is a problem with free roads, too.
I assume "wealthy special interests" means private consortiums like Cintra-Zachry. But this is an objection to road privatization, not tolls. And free roads benefit "wealthy special interests," too -- property owners who benefit from better access.
In the long run, property owners capture all of the benefits of free roads. Tolls shrink that benefit. So what's the problem?
Correction: McBlogger points out the original post was written by Peter Stern, not himself. My apologies to both.
