I really like Ken of Blue Collar Muse. A lot. So when he asked me to chime in on some website opposing toll roads in Tennessee I felt kinda bad.
There are a few conservatives out there I’ve decided to just live with disappointing. Terry Franks will never love me because I’m friends with a woman who masturbates, my dad thinks my libertarianism is sorely misguided and others out there just, well, let’s say they like Glen Beck more than they like me and that’s just fine. But Ken is a good guy and I like him a lot–his opinions on bankruptcy and toll roads notwithstanding.
See, toll roads suit me right down to the ground. I spend my life paying for schools I don’t send children to, national parks I seldom visit, public radio and television that bores me to tears. I also pay for “art” exhibits of varying levels of quality–nevermind the fact that if I wanted to see them I’d most likely have to travel to one of two costs to eyeball the fruits of my investment. I pay for guns and ammunition that I can’t use to shoot at anybody. With all that money in the defence budget you’d think I’d get a little thrown my way but since I’d probably use it to scare off the cretin who lets their dog poopuddle my front yard every day I can’t have any at all.
[For the record that last paragraph was meant to be slightly humourous. You really don't need to leave a comment about Just Wars or how the kids in public schools today will be the brain surgeons of tomorrow or how the NEA makes us a healthier nation. Of course you can leave such a comment if it makes you feel better...]
Toll roads are the libertarian ideal. If you drive on them you pay for them. If you sit at home and knit an afghan or watch that vomitous Jon & Kate Plus 8 program or eat cheese fondue you don’t pay for the road. Scratch that. Since this is America, land of the tax and home of the partial wage, you do pay for the road. But you will pay less than you used to because the people who actually take their cars on the road will be paying more. And if the libertarians among you have their way the tolls will gradually phase out the taxes currently apportioned to the road(s) in question.
I have recently returned from riding along many roads. My ample arse has recently seen more than 2500 miles of asphalt, concrete and yellow paint. I can only imagine how much this country would benefit if we let a bit of that ground go private.
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“And if the libertarians among you have their way the tolls will gradually phase out the taxes currently apportioned to the road(s) in question.”
I agree with you as far as that goes, but the problem (here in Austin anyway) is that once government gets wind of a spicy new source of revenue they’re very loathe to reduce the old tax. They simply add the new “enhancements” on to the next budget, then complain that there isn’t enough money to cover the new programs that they want to start.
The worst part… the very worst… is that here in Austin the state govt. is seriously considering converting public roads to toll roads to raise more tax money. You read that right. Public money has been used to pay for roads that are “free” now, but if the powers that be get their way, we’ll soon start having to pay an additional toll to drive on them. Why? To pay for the new programs for which there isn’t money in the budget.
Kat!!
I KNEW you liked me. Ha! Now I have it in writing!
Thanks for the link love and the kind words. Despite the fact that I could never like Glenn Beck more than I like you, you’re right – we’re probably going to agree to disagree on this one.
Not only for outrageous reasons such as Jason so eloquently points out above. When you first emailed, I assumed your objection would center around a pay-as-you-go defense. I had no idea the idea of privatization would enter into the debate.
These aren’t private roads we’re talking about. And unless Tennessee follows Texas’ lead and makes currently free roads into toll roads, there will be no tolls to pay for the construction of toll roads. The state will build it first and then encourage us to comfort ourselves with the rationale that only those who use the road are paying for it.
Between bloated bureaucracy and the usual profit/loss track record of other forms of public transportation, I find it incomprehensible to believe that toll roads, which one would hope would pay for themselves, will come within shouting distance of that noble goal.
For this reason, and more that I’ll post on over at BCM in the days ahead, tolls are a bad practical means to flesh out a sound practical ideology.
Ken
But what about Just Wars or how the kids in public schools today will be the brain surgeons of tomorrow or how the NEA makes us a healthier nation… oh wait… just kidding.
Anyways, my only thing with toll roads is how they affect commuting workers in an age of $4 gas. Yes commuters are “using the road,” but they are using it to be productive members of society, something which generally ought to be encouraged. I know someone who has never had any desire to have a motorcycle but is considering buying one just to be able to afford to get the gas to go to work and back. Tack on a few thousand dollars a year in tolls and what would that person do?
As for BCM, interesting that you really like him. Maybe I should have given him more of a chance. I visited over there once and saw a post on gay marriage that was simply staggering in it’s lack of education on the topic. I don’t mind if people disagree with me, but seriously, if you’re going to write on that important of a topic, at least bother to read a bit about it and get your facts straight first. I didn’t go back, probably still won’t, but your recommendation of him makes me wonder if his ignorance was only limited to that topic after all.