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| Republicans Against Toll Roads (1235225) | |||
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Republicans Against Toll Roads |
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Posted by italianstallion on Tue Oct 21 18:12:50 2014 NYTMilton Friedman, the standard bearer for free-market economics, was so fond of the phrase “there is no such thing as a free lunch” that he used it as the title of a book of essays. Mr. Friedman is a hero to the right, but it would seem that the volume has not been well read by Republicans in Texas. The Wall Street Journal published a story today about a public backlash against toll roads in Texas, where people increasingly have to pay to drive on many major highways, including several in the Dallas area. The allure of “free”— at the point of access—is hard to resist, even for conservatives. Steve Munisteri, chairman of the Texas Republican Party, told The Journal that “a large segment of our party believes in having free access to transportation.” There is no question that highway tolls can be a burden, especially to the poor in places where there is little public transportation. But if Republican officials in Texas were truly concerned about poor people driving the long way to work in order to avoid toll roads, they could do a lot more than rant: They could raise the gas tax and increase state investment in public transit. The state has had no choice but to toll its roads, because its lawmakers have refused to raise enough money through taxes to pay for new highways. The state’s 20-cent per-gallon gas has not been increased since 1991. |
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