HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

America's Highways Need That Trillion Dollars Congress Already Spent

Views:849
@ReasonVids

Q&A with Reason Foundation's Bob Poole

"The whole interstate highway system over the next two decades is going to reach and exceed 50 years life and need to be replaced," says Bob Poole, who's the director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Reason.com. "It's the crown jewel of our transportation system and it's going to start falling apart."

In his June testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, Poole argued that Congress should begin implementing a long-term plan to fund and reconstruct the interstate system. The following month, lawmakers passed yet another stop-gap bill that extends transportation funding for a matter of months.

Ahead of that vote, Poole spoke with Reason magazine's Matt Welch, predicting just such an outcome: "In a few months it'll be a year of temporary extensions."

While Congress is fiddling with general fund revenue to plug immediate transportation financing holes, it is ignoring the massive and inescapable highway project. In a 2013 study, Poole conservatively estimated a price tag of $1 trillion to rebuild the interstate system.

"Other estimates are higher, but there is no program, no identified funding source, and no possible way the current, as structured Highway Trust Fund could begin to do that project," Poole said.

He notes that politicians have been raiding the trust fund and toll financing revenue streams for decades to pay for programs completely unrelated to highways. Beyond that, the feds have made it illegal for states to create new toll financing. They've also eroded the "user-pays" principle that ensures continued financing by charging people based on their road use (e.g., through a gas or mileage tax) and sequestering those funds, rather than relying on general fund revenue that is subject to budget cuts.

For more on how Congress is bankrupting our highways and Poole's roadmap out of the current quagmire, watch the interview above.

About 9 minutes.

Hosted by Matt Welch. Edited by Justin Monticello. Shot by Paul Detrick and Zach Weissmueller. Music by Kevin MacLeod.

Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2015/08/24/highways-need-trillion-dollar-fix for downloadable versions and subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.

us interstate highway system (highway system)
,
united states congress (governmental body)
    Thumbnail for How Legal Marijuana Is Working in Colorado5:46
    How Legal Marijuana Is Working in Colorado
    ReasonVids
    1037 views
    Thumbnail for Natural Food Fight: Whole Foods and Health Care4:28
    Natural Food Fight: Whole Foods and Health Care
    ReasonVids
    944 views
    Thumbnail for What Drug Warriors Got Wrong About the Opioid Epidemic6:29
    What Drug Warriors Got Wrong About the Opioid Epidemic
    ReasonVids
    904 views
    Thumbnail for Hillary Celebrates Facebook Friends Day0:23
    Hillary Celebrates Facebook Friends Day
    ReasonVids
    926 views
    Thumbnail for Cheap Chinese Boat Rope Allowed This Worthless Vessel To Drift Into Occupied Waters. 0:10
    Cheap Chinese Boat Rope Allowed This Worthless Vessel To Drift Into Occupied Waters.
    AOUisgay
    532 views
    Thumbnail for Trump's Fake News: Deep Breaths and Fact-Checking Might Just Save America5:10
    Trump's Fake News: Deep Breaths and Fact-Checking Might Just Save America
    ReasonVids
    959 views
    Thumbnail for Remember this guy? He's still at it 🤣0:41
    Remember this guy? He's still at it 🤣
    bestofupgoat
    184 views
    Thumbnail for Old school boxing not that gayass rolling on the ground crap and btw 'This ain't America'!?0:53
    Old school boxing not that gayass rolling on the ground crap and btw 'This ain't America'!?
    bestofsaidit
    916 views
    Thumbnail for Goat Yoga Gets Baaaaaa-nned4:07
    Goat Yoga Gets Baaaaaa-nned
    ReasonVids
    826 views
    Thumbnail for How Bitcoin Could Replace the U.S. Dollar1:01:34
    How Bitcoin Could Replace the U.S. Dollar
    ReasonVids
    695 views
    Thumbnail for Should the U.S. Unilaterally Abolish All Tariffs And Duties? A Debate on Free Trade.1:23:15
    Should the U.S. Unilaterally Abolish All Tariffs And Duties? A Debate on Free Trade.
    ReasonVids
    713 views
    Thumbnail for Man's best friend knows better than to go running onto the street... niggers not so much ¯\_(ツ)_/¯0:27
    Man's best friend knows better than to go running onto the street... niggers not so much ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    bestofupgoat
    542 views
    Thumbnail for Get Thicker Softer Hair With 2 Natural Ingredients and 20+ Beauty Tips | BRIGHT SIDE8:47
    Get Thicker Softer Hair With 2 Natural Ingredients and 20+ Beauty Tips | BRIGHT SIDE
    invidious
    285 views
    Thumbnail for How To Respond to the Great Deplatforming of 20218:57
    How To Respond to the Great Deplatforming of 2021
    ReasonVids
    949 views
    Thumbnail for are you some kind of Nazi?1:20
    are you some kind of Nazi?
    bestofvoatxyz
    505 views
    Thumbnail for ISLAM : BIBLE IS CORRUPTED | THE TRUMP CARD4:27
    ISLAM : BIBLE IS CORRUPTED | THE TRUMP CARD
    knockitoff
    1833 views
    Thumbnail for Why would any sensible Libertarian support abandoning Afghanistan to the Taliban?2:26
    Why would any sensible Libertarian support abandoning Afghanistan to the Taliban?
    ReasonVids
    815 views
    Thumbnail for Remy: Savage (Megan Thee Stallion Coronavirus Bailout Zoom Parody)1:25
    Remy: Savage (Megan Thee Stallion Coronavirus Bailout Zoom Parody)
    ReasonVids
    949 views
    Thumbnail for What's the Biggest Threat to Free Speech?3:37
    What's the Biggest Threat to Free Speech?
    ReasonVids
    948 views
    Thumbnail for He (Almost) Took His Job0:18
    He (Almost) Took His Job
    bestofvoatxyz
    535 views
    Thumbnail for Why Trump's 'Buy American, Hire American' is un-American3:17
    Why Trump's 'Buy American, Hire American' is un-American
    ReasonVids
    1042 views
    Thumbnail for Citizen vs. Government (Vol. 5)1:10
    Citizen vs. Government (Vol. 5)
    ReasonVids
    800 views
    Thumbnail for Reporter has migraine on live TV 2/13/11. | azzonie0:21
    Reporter has migraine on live TV 2/13/11. | azzonie
    invidious
    262 views
    Thumbnail for GLOBAL ALICE IS BACK ! | Poizy1:00
    GLOBAL ALICE IS BACK ! | Poizy
    invidious
    176 views
    Thumbnail for Weegs reads poetry1:57
    Weegs reads poetry
    AmericanMuskrat
    133 views

points

Permalink
Reply
us interstate highway system (highway system)
,
united states congress (governmental body)
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle