August 27, 2007 - By True Patriot and Congressman
Ron Paul
The recent and tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota raises many
questions in Americans' minds about our aging infrastructure,
and what is being done to maintain it. Questions such as: "Was
I-35 an isolated accident or are we approaching days when
crumbling bridges and bursting pipes will be regular features
on the evening news?"
The poor ratings on the inspection report of that bridge,
and similar deficiency findings on as many as 25% of our bridges
suggests the latter. Estimates on what it will cost to bring
deficiencies in our infrastructure back up to par range from
massive to astronomical.
Billions of tax dollars at all levels of government are devoted
to infrastructure, but one problem is that politicians love
to cut ribbons. Political capital is gained not from maintaining
or repairing our systems, but from building new bridges, new
stadiums, and new roads, often of questionable real utility.
Seldom is there a ceremony or photo opportunity for repairing
or maintaining something already in place.
As the so-called Highway Trust Fund is set to go bankrupt
as early as 2009, private investment firms are gearing up for
partnerships, which could be a positive step, if handled sensibly.
What we need to avoid are items such as the Trans Texas Corridor
(TTC), which is phase 1 of the NAFTA Super Highway . The Spanish
firm Cintra is set to take over toll collections after the
TTC’s completion, however it is unclear that they’ll
have any obligations for maintenance. The cost is being socialized,
while the profit is privatized, effectively making the American
people pay for it twice.
Infrastructure, in a capitalist model, is an asset worthy
of maintaining to ensure continuity of revenue. In a government
controlled model infrastructure is nothing but a cumbersome
liability. This should be taken into consideration when developing
plans to keep our current infrastructure safe. Privatization
should be used to encourage maintenance and safety, and where
private companies truly invest and bear the upfront costs in
return for ability to collect tolls or usage fees in some form.
But public/private partnerships that look more like corporate
welfare must be avoided.
We should re-examine how we handle the taxes we collect for
infrastructure and how we allocate that money. At the very
least reins need to be put on the Highway Trust Fund. Funds
collected from the gas tax should go into the Trust Fund--
period.
Even the most ardent liberal and passionate conservative
can agree that when they pay gasoline taxes, the least they
expect is a road and bridge system that won't crumble beneath
their feet. Before any subsidies or welfare payments are paid
out, before social security is handed out to illegal immigrants,
or health care is given to everyone, before bridges to nowhere
are built at home, or entire countries bombed and rebuilt abroad,
before any other myriad of exotic government projects are even
considered, infrastructure should be attended to and taken
seriously.
Read more Articles by Ron Paul at http://www.house.gov/paul/legis.shtml
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