Charon wrote on 08/17/13 at 04:59:04:People like to complain about how bad the roads have become, and blame politicians at every level for it. But people don't particularly like to pay higher taxes, and complain vociferously whenever they are raised.
Roads are largely paid for by fuel taxes. The current generation of more fuel-efficient vehicles has cut fuel consumption, which was the whole idea. That cuts fuel tax revenue, but of course the cost of road repairs has gone up along with the general increase of prices for almost everything (really caused by the drop in the value of money). It is tough to raise fuel taxes because of the popular uproar.
Real estate along paved roads is usually assessed at higher value. That means higher property tax. Property owners don't like that very much. But they like to gripe about the chuckholes in that pavement.
Our local village has some pretty terrible roads. Every time they try to set up a Pavement Improvement District, property owners rise up in droves to oppose it, because the properties in that district are assessed a levy to help pay for the pavement.
In short - all of us would like better roads, but none of us want to pay for them.
I have argued (in other places, with friends and others) for raising gasoline taxes and/or indexing them to help adjust for inflation and for increased fuel efficiency, so it isn't like I'm not willing to pay my share or get others to pay theirs.
The disappointing thing is that in my area we've raised gasoline taxes (a relatively reasonable amount, though certainly it was a jolt when first enacted because it was such an increase after having gone years without having raised it at all) and we've raised toll fees some pretty outrageous amounts relative to what they were. The toll increases were pretty unjustified, at least at the levels they were raised, after having raised the gasoline taxes.
But... just as quickly as I say I am good with raising taxes, I'm incredibly irritated with the idea of doing so because I've also seen time and again where politicians have taken money that was promised to be spent on roads (or schools, or any other designated area) and instead shifted that money around to other pet projects or items that were far more want than need. I understand building new schools or expanding schools to adjust for more students being in enrolled, and I understand building new roads as needed for new housing developments and such, but once built any hope of maintenance is pretty much out the window because the government types can't seem to find the money that was absolutely designated to go into transportation infrastructure.
In the case of roads for new housing, there are fees levied on the housing developers and the home owners that are supposed to cover those costs and put aside money that should help cover future costs, then later there are HOA fees and other levies that are also supposed to cover those things, so it isn't like the state and fed governments are on the hook for those costs. Instead the money keeps getting shifted between wants, ignores needs and leaves us all with crappy roads, partly because in leaving us with those needs the politicians can promise to take care of those needs in exchange for getting our votes.
I'd still, as I said originally, love to subject the people that have let us get into this situation to riding a Savage or S40 on the original seat for about 90 minutes straight over the roads they are responsible for. Let them enjoy the bumps, potholes, patches applied upon patches, and other deteriorating roadways and they would likely find the political courage to raise the taxes and also stop shuffling the funds around such that the trust funds that are supposed to pay for all of these things are used as promised.
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