We should not be levying taxes to fund roads. Ideally roads would be financed entirely by charges for their use (tolls) by competitive road service companies raising their capital in financial markets based on their ability to make money serving motorists. Market based tolls solve the congestion problem with rates pitched to discourage some trips at times when density of vehicles reaches the point where drivers can't maintain a comfortable distance from the vehicle ahead and free flow breaks down. Tolls can now be collected with radio frequency transponders in cars and license plate recognition. And there is real time data on traffic conditions for management of traffic. It is good news that the hodge-podge collection of taxes and charges and subsidies for road funds is collapsing. Auction off the roads and rights-of-way to competing road service companies, pay down the national debt with the proceeds, and let the market look after motorists.
Solid breakdown of the HTF crisis. The politcal incentive structure is completley misaligned with fiscal reality. Ribbon cuttings for new roads get votes, but there's no press conference for pothole patches. I worked on municipal budgets before and the maintenance deferrals alwayys get kicked to the next administration. Once you frame it like household overspending it becomes kinda obvious we're just adding liabilities with no plan to cover them.
This is an excellent overview of a long-pending issue that is not entirely obvious to many.
An inherent part of the problem, in my opinion, is that building new roads is such a popular policy in most places around the world that costs kinda don't matter.
No-one cares about the resulting spreadsheet which often isn't even readily available and requires a considerable research effort to build a strong comprehension of. Whatever gets built and praised at any given moment in time will always be the next governments' problem to maintain. Governments the world over give money to road projects that look great on the map and appease the public, and where they don't have the money, they wouldn't mind borrowing or even simply printing more (inflation and costs of living going up being the next governments' problem, too).
Another angle on this is that with a lot of infrastructure 'investment' going on, local Councils may end up being unable to afford the burden of maintaining their own infrastructure. That may be a feature rather than a bug, as putting them in a constant need of influx of cash from elsewhere due to that burden is an extremely efficient tool of political control and power centralisation in the long run.
Andy, the problem isn't just roads and isn't only in the USA. I live in Alberta, CANADA (forever a nation). Our city has experienced two major water main ruptures in the last two years. Much of the urban infrastructure has not been maintained.
My condominium is required by provincial (state) law to prepare a Reserve Fund Study and Report on the fixed assets of the corporation every three years, and specify how it is going to be funded (from so-called contributions) levied on owners. The RFS&R is expected to anticipate the life of assets and show how to fund the replacement or refurbishment of those assets. National, provincial/state and municipal corporations should do the same, instead of elected officials kowtowing during election seasons to commercial interests that want (for example) a new stadium for an overpaid football or hockey team.
We should not be levying taxes to fund roads. Ideally roads would be financed entirely by charges for their use (tolls) by competitive road service companies raising their capital in financial markets based on their ability to make money serving motorists. Market based tolls solve the congestion problem with rates pitched to discourage some trips at times when density of vehicles reaches the point where drivers can't maintain a comfortable distance from the vehicle ahead and free flow breaks down. Tolls can now be collected with radio frequency transponders in cars and license plate recognition. And there is real time data on traffic conditions for management of traffic. It is good news that the hodge-podge collection of taxes and charges and subsidies for road funds is collapsing. Auction off the roads and rights-of-way to competing road service companies, pay down the national debt with the proceeds, and let the market look after motorists.
Solid breakdown of the HTF crisis. The politcal incentive structure is completley misaligned with fiscal reality. Ribbon cuttings for new roads get votes, but there's no press conference for pothole patches. I worked on municipal budgets before and the maintenance deferrals alwayys get kicked to the next administration. Once you frame it like household overspending it becomes kinda obvious we're just adding liabilities with no plan to cover them.
This is an excellent overview of a long-pending issue that is not entirely obvious to many.
An inherent part of the problem, in my opinion, is that building new roads is such a popular policy in most places around the world that costs kinda don't matter.
No-one cares about the resulting spreadsheet which often isn't even readily available and requires a considerable research effort to build a strong comprehension of. Whatever gets built and praised at any given moment in time will always be the next governments' problem to maintain. Governments the world over give money to road projects that look great on the map and appease the public, and where they don't have the money, they wouldn't mind borrowing or even simply printing more (inflation and costs of living going up being the next governments' problem, too).
Another angle on this is that with a lot of infrastructure 'investment' going on, local Councils may end up being unable to afford the burden of maintaining their own infrastructure. That may be a feature rather than a bug, as putting them in a constant need of influx of cash from elsewhere due to that burden is an extremely efficient tool of political control and power centralisation in the long run.
Andy, the problem isn't just roads and isn't only in the USA. I live in Alberta, CANADA (forever a nation). Our city has experienced two major water main ruptures in the last two years. Much of the urban infrastructure has not been maintained.
My condominium is required by provincial (state) law to prepare a Reserve Fund Study and Report on the fixed assets of the corporation every three years, and specify how it is going to be funded (from so-called contributions) levied on owners. The RFS&R is expected to anticipate the life of assets and show how to fund the replacement or refurbishment of those assets. National, provincial/state and municipal corporations should do the same, instead of elected officials kowtowing during election seasons to commercial interests that want (for example) a new stadium for an overpaid football or hockey team.