...continued from yesterday...

Still, merit doesn't make things happen, necessarily.

Amen.

But perhaps tax is the wrong way to handle it. Maybe all roads should be toll roads. Maybe you should pay per mile driven. I don't know. The point is that the word tax is loaded, but the goal must be kept in mind.

Anyway, you want to pay less to drive? Tell it to the oil companies. They'll happily "apologize" from atop their mountains of profit.

The oil companies aren't to blame for high gas prices, and I have no problem with their profits. Oil is a good business to be in right now, because worldwide demand is higher than ever. Our government's policies regarding exploration, drilling, and refining within our country have more to do with current prices than the actions of the oil companies.

Then, we have the issue of taxes making gas more expensive than it should be, which brings us back on topic. "Tax" is indeed a loaded word, and for good reason. We don't need to address the problem by taxing it, either through higher taxes on oil/gasoline or through new user fees, such as highway tolls. We already pay enough taxes to have sufficient infrastructure, but the money isn't being spent where it's needed.

Infrastructure is a legitimate government expenditure, and I have no problem with my tax dollars going toward road and rail systems, or other types of public transportation. Our society can't function without modern systems of transportation. The problem is that more taxation seems to be the government's solution to everything, and too large a portion of our federal and state budgets are being spent on endeavors in which government should not be involved, rather than being allocated to the necessities specified in the federal and state constitutions.

That's the reason taxpayers balk at new taxes for anything, and why it's difficult to get public support for something as logical and necessary as rail systems in areas with congested highways. We've already sent the money to the government, it just needs to be correctly utilized. We can't continue raising taxes indefinitely.

Of course, we're getting into the politics of "which things should be included in the list of government's legitimate functions," but I think that's necessary in order to address the transportation issue. Whereas I would support cutting current government expenditures in other areas to pay for a rail system in Tennessee, others would rather look for additional revenue (taxes & fees) for the project. Everyone could be in complete agreement on what to do to reach the goal, but if we can't agree on how to pay for it, it doesn't matter.

Things should cost what they actually cost. Where they don't, someone's getting fucked. In this case, it's all of us, though not necessarily equally...

So, where, specifically, is the inequity? Are you referring to the manner in which government allocates the funding, or the fact that taxpayers use roads and public transportation to varying degrees, even though they might share the same tax burdens? (Or, were you just referring to the lobbyists, below?)

It means, above all, planning comfortable, *walkable* communities, even in the suburbs. It means encouraging telecommuting. It means, also, changing our politics.

On the surface, that sounds great to me.

The voices of lobbyists are loud enough to drown out competing dialogue.

I agree, but in a free society, how do we tell citizens (as individuals or organizations) that they can't lobby? I think term limits for legislators would be a good start. The lobbying would continue, but at least we wouldn't have the same legislators in office for decades.

Want to get a bite to eat? Drive. A drink with friends? Drive. See a show? Drive. Do all three in the same night, probably Drive, drive, and then drive. Oh, and then drive home. It's awful and makes me want to stay home with my XBOX. Everywhere I go is a parking headache, even after dealing with the traffic, and then when it's time to leave, I get to do all over again.

Fuck it.

lol - You're preaching to the choir, although my game systems are Nintendo and Sony. ;) The Nashville and Murfreesboro areas are the same way... nothing is "just around the corner" or even "a few blocks down." Most of our neighborhoods (old and new) don't even bother with sidewalks.

RE: America’s Traffic Congestion Problem: Toward a Framework for Nationwide Reform