Government Roads

"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty". – Thomas Jefferson

Most people cannot conceive of breaking the monopoly the government has on roads and revitalizing the roads. This blindness reminds me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato
Plato's example shows how truth is hard to discern, especially if you have been conditioned all your life that what you have observed is reality.

The truth is government owned roads are inefficient and dangerous. Over 40,000 people are killed each year on government owned roads. Thousands more are injured and maimed. Millions of hours are spent in congestion, waiting for the government roads to move traffic.

People tend to think the government has always owned the roads. Not so. In the beginning the roads were made by private use and improved for by commercial interests; mining supplies and trade. Governments who needed to move armies found a need to improve roads. Soon governments begin to confiscate roads by force. Government provides nothing without first taking it from someone who is a producer.

President Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe in WW II. He saw the German Autobahn. When Eisenhower became President in 1952 he set out to build a highway system in the United States that would be similar to the Autobahn. Eisenhower knew a road system would help commerce, and help his supporters in the construction and cement industry.

Suppose the government had never built a road. The automobile manufactures would have needed roads to sell their cars. Soon the automobile manufactures would have built roads.

What about commercial trucking companies? They would have built roads so they could provided shipping services.

Auto insurers could not insure automobiles unless people owned automobiles. Auto insurers would see to it roads were built so cars could be sold so insurers could insure autos. Auto insurers would also see to it that the roads were safer because they would have a profit motive for safe roads. The State has no such interest in safety. The State makes money on accidents. A bus accident in Georgia that killed 4 college students and 2 adults happened at a place that had 6 previous accidents. The State of Georgia said they had no plans to change the road.

Builders who want to build a new subdivision would have to build a road to the development. The cost would simply be added to the cost of purchasing a new house.

It costs around ten million dollars today to build one lane/mile of a major highway. The federal highway system is over 46,000 miles. Selling the roads to a private consortium that would charge tolls would mean the roads are worth a trillion dollars, or more, based on the amount of revenue they would collect, at ten cents per mile toll, a small auto would pay $200 to travel 2000 miles. The trillion dollars could be used to generate income for retirees and help eliminate social security.

It's time to sell the roads to the auto manufactures, insurance companies, shipping companies and builders. The proceeds from the sell will help the state and federal treasurers, reduce personal taxes, and allow the state to collect corporate taxes on the road owners.

Another option would be to issue 100 shares to each citizen for ownership of the new road corporations, The I-80 Corporation would be one road corporation owned by the citizens. Dividends could be paid to citizens for retirement income.


John Galt