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There is a particularly virulent strain of stupidity circulating today, promoted by the environmental movement of course, that has some people thinking that they don't need roads.
Jeff K unfortunately has caught this bug so I'm going to try and enlighten him as a cure.
Gas taxes don't come close to paying for roads, even if you don't include the hidden fees that come with cars.
95% of Minnesotans use roads to get to work. This means that the taxes spent to build and maintain roads and bridges benefit 95% of the state. This is a much higher percentage of the state than those who benefit from welfare, yet the Transportation budget is dwarfed by Health and Human Services. This would seem to show that the meager 5% who don't use the roads are incredibly selfish, but they are also incredibly ignorant.
100% of the state benefits from good roads and bridges. The food you ate and the garbage you disposed of were handled by roads. If you work for a company that creates a product, your supplies were trucked in and your products were trucked out. If you are an information worker; your computer, peripherals, chair, desk, lights and coffee mug were supplied by roads. If you biked to work, that bicycle was delivered to the Twin Cities by roads.
(I have ignored rail because the last mile is almost always handled by a truck. Is there a rail-spur next to your local Target?)
If Kermit goes bonkers and breaks into your home for your scotch stash, the police will use roads to arrive after you have shot Kermit and they will also use a road to take you to jail for defending your own home (assuming you live in the 7 county metro area) God forbid that Brent's prison camp diet causes him to pass out during the "Real Housewives of New York", the ambulance that takes Brent to the Anorexia treatment center, will use roads.
The Dwight D Eisenhower Federal Highway System was a defense bill. Our current interstate highway system was created for national defense and interstate commerce. States (with the help of our pathetic Congressional Douche Bags) have abused this system with designations like 394 that grab federal money for commuter routes that have nothing to do with defense, yet people should still remember that this is yet another national use for roads that LRT cannot satisfy.
So, there are no "hidden cost" for roads. A more honest statement would say that our roads, which are largely funded by commuters, have hidden benefits! Roads handle our food, waste, work, toys, lube and porno mags. They are paid for by the taxpayers and they benefit everyone in the state, even the losers that don't pay taxes. Roads are a true common good that even most strict Constitutionalists would agree with.
Cross-posted at Anti-Strib. Comments welcome.
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