The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Aiding and Abetting Road Socialism 385 According to the analytic framework developed above, it would be one thing for a free-market oriented analyst to note that were roads privatized, those that focused on seat belts, i.e., assigned their police forces to concentrate on such violations, would likely lose out in the profit-and-loss war with other highway firms who addressed more important issues, such as driver recklessness. That would be an eminently sensible point to make, and if the road socialists adopted this insight, well, at least lives would be saved. However, it is entirely a different and more problematic matter to be gratuitously dispensing advice to those who are responsible for road carnage in the first place. This sort of stance plays fast and loose with the job of the free-market advocate which is, wait for it, to be advocating free markets, and not advice intended to render more efficient institutions which are very much the opposite of free enterprises. “WE” ARE LOSING TAX BASE Two of the biggest challenges facing public officials in America today are deteriorating roads and highways and a lack of funding to pay for needed improvements. Since the Interstate Highway System was completed in the early 1990s, we have witnessed a continual decline in the overall condition of our nation’s road infrastructure. There are several reasons for this. First, the purchasing power of the fuel taxes we now collect— the principal means of highway finance in the U.S.—has declined dramatically since the 1950s. Second, vehicle fuel economy has risen dramatically during the same time, so we do not collect the same amount of taxes on a per mile basis as we once did. And third, many officials are unwilling to increase fuel taxes because of intense voter opposition to new or higher taxes of any kind. 18 18 Transportation Finance Summit conference background and purpose, March 3–4, 2004; brochure.
386 The Privatization of Roads and Highways The obvious question is, Who is this “we?” The above quote comes from a press release for the Transportation Finance Summit that took place March 3–4, 2004 in the Grand Hyatt, Washington, D.C. As one of the sponsors of the event was the Reason Foundation, it would appear that this organization includes itself, and is included by all the others, in the general “we.” However, there are those of us libertarians who would not consent to any such inclusion. Wringing hands over the declining real value of taxes is something somewhat incompatible with advocacy of the free society. 19 Nor is this merely a debate between limited-government libertarians and anarcho-capitalists. Surely, it is a contradiction for a libertarian of any stripe to countenance fuel taxes per se, let alone any increase in them. Why is this any different than if a group ostensibly devoted to “freedom as the basic underpinnings of a good society” 20 were to take part in a general dissatisfaction with the fact that income or sales or property or any other taxes for that matter were too low, and that the real value of the government’s take had slipped? Surely, were any group or individual to take part in such hand-wringing in any other context, their (lack of) libertarian credentials would be clear. Why should it be any different in this case? 19In any case, the responsibility for this decline is yet another government entity, the central banking system which creates inflation. See on this, Milton Friedman, Studies in the Quantity Theory of Money (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956); Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz, Monetary Statistics of the United States: Estimates, Sources, Methods (New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1970); idem, Monetary Trends in the United States and the United Kingdom, Their Relation to Income, Prices, and Interest Rates, 1867–1975 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982); Murray N. Rothbard, The Mystery of Banking (New York: Richardson and Snyder, 1983). 20www.reason.org/.
Page 2:
The Privatization of Roads and High
Page 5 and 6:
This book is dedicated to my fellow
Page 7 and 8:
vi The Privatization of Roads and H
Page 9 and 10:
viii The Privatization of Roads and
Page 11 and 12:
x The Privatization of Roads and Hi
Page 14 and 15:
Acknowledgments Iwould like to than
Page 16 and 17:
Introduction Most people who read t
Page 18:
Introduction xvii dealing with obje
Page 22 and 23:
1 Free-Market Transportation: Denat
Page 24 and 25:
Free-Market Transportation: Denatio
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 46 and 47:
Page 48 and 49:
Page 50 and 51:
Page 52 and 53:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64:
Page 67 and 68:
48 The Privatization of Roads and H
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 116 and 117:
3 Public Goods and Externalities: T
Page 118 and 119:
Public Goods and Externalities: The
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 134 and 135:
Page 136 and 137:
Page 138 and 139:
Page 140 and 141:
Page 142 and 143:
Page 144 and 145:
Page 146 and 147:
Page 148 and 149:
Page 150 and 151:
Page 152 and 153:
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
Page 158 and 159:
Page 160 and 161:
Page 162 and 163:
Page 164 and 165:
Page 166 and 167:
Page 168 and 169:
Page 170:
Page 173 and 174:
154 The Privatization of Roads and
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 186:
Part II Applications
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 202 and 203:
6 Road Socialism * What are the bes
Page 204 and 205:
Road Socialism 185 of the state app
Page 206 and 207:
Road Socialism 187 It is in order t
Page 208 and 209:
Road Socialism 189 indicates that v
Page 210 and 211:
Road Socialism 191 vehicle inspecti
Page 212 and 213:
Road Socialism 193 that “The domi
Page 214 and 215:
Road Socialism 195 imaginative and
Page 216 and 217:
Road Socialism 197 2. Perhaps the p
Page 218 and 219:
Road Socialism 199 bouncer, to each
Page 220 and 221:
7 Compromising the Uncompromisable:
Page 222 and 223:
Compromising the Uncompromisable: S
Page 224 and 225:
Page 226 and 227:
Page 228 and 229:
Page 230 and 231:
Page 232 and 233:
Page 234 and 235:
8 Roads and the Immigration Issue T
Page 236 and 237:
Roads and the Immigration Issue 217
Page 238 and 239:
Page 240 and 241:
Page 242 and 243:
9 The Motor Vehicle Bureau Newly ar
Page 244:
The Motor Vehicle Bureau 225 In the
Page 248 and 249:
10 Privatize Public Highways * Acro
Page 250 and 251:
Privatize Public Highways 231 Thoma
Page 252 and 253:
11 Homesteading City Streets: An Ex
Page 254 and 255:
Homesteading City Streets: An Exerc
Page 256 and 257:
Page 258 and 259:
Page 260 and 261:
Page 262 and 263:
Page 264 and 265:
Page 266 and 267:
Page 268 and 269:
Page 270 and 271:
Page 272:
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
Page 283 and 284:
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
Page 289 and 290:
Page 291 and 292:
Page 293 and 294:
Page 295 and 296:
Page 298 and 299:
13 Transition to Private Roads * Le
Page 300 and 301:
Transition to Private Roads 281 pre
Page 302 and 303:
Transition to Private Roads 283 Blo
Page 304 and 305:
Transition to Private Roads 285 to
Page 306 and 307:
Transition to Private Roads 287 But
Page 308 and 309:
Transition to Private Roads 289 The
Page 310:
Part IV Critiques
Page 313 and 314:
Page 315 and 316:
Page 317 and 318:
Page 319 and 320:
Page 321 and 322:
Page 323 and 324:
Page 325 and 326:
Page 327 and 328:
Page 330 and 331:
15 Comment on “Roads, Bridges, Su
Page 332 and 333:
Comment on “Roads, Bridges, Sunli
Page 334 and 335:
16 Roads, Bridges, Sunlight, and Pr
Page 336 and 337:
Roads, Bridges, Sunlight, and Priva
Page 338 and 339:
Page 340 and 341:
Page 342 and 343:
Page 344 and 345:
Page 346 and 347:
Page 348 and 349:
Page 350 and 351:
17 Who is Responsible for Traffic D
Page 352 and 353:
Who is Responsible for Traffic Deat
Page 354 and 355: Who is Responsible for Traffic Deat
Page 364: Who is Responsible for Traffic Deat
Page 367 and 368: 348 The Privatization of Roads and
Page 398 and 399: 20 Aiding and Abetting Road Sociali
Page 400 and 401: Aiding and Abetting Road Socialism
Page 422: Part V Conclusion
Page 440 and 441: APPENDIX I Annual U.S. Street & Hig
Page 442: Appendices 423 It cannot be denied
Page 455 and 456:
Page 457 and 458:
Page 459 and 460:
Page 461 and 462:
Page 463 and 464:
Page 465 and 466:
Page 467 and 468:
Page 469 and 470:
Page 471 and 472:
Page 473 and 474:
Page 475 and 476:
Page 477 and 478:
Page 479 and 480:
Page 481 and 482:
Page 483 and 484:
Page 485 and 486:
Page 487 and 488:
Page 489 and 490:
Page 491 and 492:
Page 493 and 494:
show all

The Privatization of Roads and Highways - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?