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COUNT US! MM Mitch MM
coverage:
Why private tolling
& Why we pay less for fuel.
The Democratic process
will not support high enough taxation of fuel in a mature road system,
privatization supporters
believe.
Voters are content enough with the status quo to refuse a higher fuel
tax..
Nationally the privatization of roads by more and more taxation (called
a toll/user fee ) under the control of private companies is seen as the
only way to generate significantly higher income for DOTs and the road
construction industry.
If Major Moves in Indiana is not challenged successfully, all future
blame for taxes (private tolls)
immediately as high as two dollars per gallon in gas tax (assuming a
5¢
per mile tax on a 40 MPG auto) would have been placed on the privateer
corporations with a long term contracts of up to 99 years. Toll
privatization of one sector of the state at a time in the areas of the
highest concentration of voters in the minority party was and
will continue to be the
tactic to gain enough votes in legislatures until the Governor can be
granted authority without legislative oversight.
The private toll accomplishes a few things:
Remember the Kyoto agreement regarding Green House gasses? Part
of
that requires us to use our cars less or reduce our emissions.
Higher gas tax is like a higher cigarette tax.
It gets the blame out of the hands of the legislators. Once the
generations long contracts are in place, the increased cost is blamed
on the privateer.
It creates an up front benefit of cash or a road build, with a back end
cost of payments sent into a black hole for up to 99 years.
As this tolling would become more common and smaller projects could get
local ownership or even state owned again when seen as 'just another
toll road'. Eventually USA transportation costs would equal that of
other nations fuel tax.
The sad thing is other nations high taxation goes to their general
funds, not directly back into roads or worse yet into the pockets of
foreign lease holders. Europeans get benefits like universal health
care for their increased tax on fuel.
Imagine no monthly health insurance bill for yourself or your employer
as a trade off for higher transportation costs. (Self employed at
53 years of age I pay $300+ per month for my health insurance. If
your
employer pays, you are loosing your wage to your employer who is making
the insurance payment for you.)
This Major Move to privatize/ toll our roads is not over. We can
do much better.
To better understand why and how our gas tax can be so much lower than
the rest of the world, check: http://archives.stupidquestion.net/sq62104.html
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