The President wants more toll roads and privatization of mass transit systems. It seems that since we are driving less and using more fuel efficient vehicles, we are paying less fuel tax. Fuel taxes are what are used to finance roads and bridges. Wall Street Journal story.
Our infrastructure is crumbling and what could be better than private roads, funded by well to do people with pay pass transponders on their dash boards? How about roads we all can use? Why would the private sector build transit projects in areas where they are not assured of a good return on their money? Rural areas would be stuck with expensive toll roads and little or no alternative. Are private companies going to build hiking and biking trails into their toll roads? Probably not. What would be their incentive? Would the private sector be U.S. companies or are we talking about selling off the country to foreign interests sitting on piles of U.S. dollars?
Another problem is right of way. Is it right for a government to take private property and give or sell it to another private concern because they want to make a profit? Wouldn't this be fascism? Oh yeah, and just because they are private doesn't mean the state would have much say over how they are built. See fight over O.C. toll roads.
It is my opinion that we should raise the Federal Excise Tax and the tax at the gas, hydrogen and ethanol pumps to pay for our nations roads and bridges.
As for mass transit, private companies don't do it very well, the airlines have to be bailed out all the time, and slow bus and train routes need to be subsidised anyway. Why give up control over these things when we are the ones that pay when they aren't making money?
Our infrastructure is crumbling and what could be better than private roads, funded by well to do people with pay pass transponders on their dash boards? How about roads we all can use? Why would the private sector build transit projects in areas where they are not assured of a good return on their money? Rural areas would be stuck with expensive toll roads and little or no alternative. Are private companies going to build hiking and biking trails into their toll roads? Probably not. What would be their incentive? Would the private sector be U.S. companies or are we talking about selling off the country to foreign interests sitting on piles of U.S. dollars?
Another problem is right of way. Is it right for a government to take private property and give or sell it to another private concern because they want to make a profit? Wouldn't this be fascism? Oh yeah, and just because they are private doesn't mean the state would have much say over how they are built. See fight over O.C. toll roads.
It is my opinion that we should raise the Federal Excise Tax and the tax at the gas, hydrogen and ethanol pumps to pay for our nations roads and bridges.
As for mass transit, private companies don't do it very well, the airlines have to be bailed out all the time, and slow bus and train routes need to be subsidised anyway. Why give up control over these things when we are the ones that pay when they aren't making money?
7 comments:
I think rather than tax the people who are actually paying everything more, it is time to start teaching the poor basic horse and buggy skills. What with Pelosi and Reid making sure the price of gas hits $10 a gallon. The road repairs will be much easier once they start riding horses.
Old Glory Radio
Old Glory, hard to argue with that about the horse and buggy.
Maybe when Dick Cheney met in secret, as he usually does, with the oil companies in 2001, they had a plan. Part of the plan was to not invite any alternative voices to oil, coal and nuclear power. We would know more if they weren't the most secret administration since... I can't think of one. It would seem that they were planning for Pelosi and Reed to take over in 5 or 6 years and complete their plans for the future of U.S. energy. Boy are they smart! Too bad for the oil companies though, they're only making more proffits than any industry has ever made in a single quarter. They can do better.
I have just enough free time today to help you.
Seabourn...Seabourn....Seabourn....While it is an easy assumption that Dick Cheney sits in the dark ...plotting.....one must look into the heart of the average American to see the real boogyman. Business leaders are going to do...well...what business leaders do, make money. At some point we, the unwashed masses, have to hold oursevles accountable for this mess. We are spoiled. As someone on the right, I agree we need to change our evil ways....but, make that a big butt, we also need a 20-30 year solution. That involves drilling. At best solar and wind and personal methane reclamation can acount for about ten percent of our needs. If we focus on business, we are treating the scab and not the virus. Drill more....use less. No, make that, Drill alot more, use less.
Old Glory Radio
And one other thing....to illustrate my point, fine below link to actual shocking video of what took place here.....on our very streets of Eureka this month.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0TvgrZtVQo
Drilling our way out of this situation is like digging for change in the couch because you are 6 months behind on the mortgage. Conservation can account for about 10 percent energy savings alone. I agree with some of your other points though, we need to use everything at our disposal to become more energy independent. The military is getting liquid fuel from coal, the Germans did that by the end of World War 2 so it's old technology. I don't like the emissions of coal or the destruction of mountains and valleys but it can be obtained without so much destruction and the coal people say it can burn more cleanly. In all honesty, the Cheney administration had the first energy policy (all oil) since Jimmy Carter put the solar panels on the White House that were removed by Regan. We need the jobs that independent energy will bring, the tax base from the jobs, and the reversal of our money going over seas. We need to move now in the same manner we went to the moon. ASAP.
Well...we all know the moon landing was fake, but in all seriousness....both sides of this issue are half right. We have to get off the foreign oil, but we also have to use our own resources to do it. Until Pelosi and Reid feel enough pressure from the working people they claim to represent....gas will keep going up and up and hurting the very people that can afford it the least.
Republicans are taking credit for the falling cost of oil.
They say that by talking about drilling off shore, the oil companies got the message.
Just imagine the message a real energy policy would send. This is a different message than Dick Cheney offered when he met with the oil companies in secret in 2001. Oil did nothing but climb in price after that. Oh yeah, and then we were attacked! And now the oil companies are carving up the Iraq oil fields and making deals. And Iraq has recorded billions in surplus money due to the high cost of oil exports. Will Iraq pay us back for blowing up their country? No. Will they kick the U.S. out? Yes. They already did. Will we leave? No.
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