THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume IX, Issue # 90, May 19, 2007
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
NATIONAL SELLOUT; NATIONAL TRAGEDY
By Henry Lamb
THE SALE, OR LONGTERM LEASE, OF AMERICA'S TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO INTERNATIONAL FINANCIERS:
TRANSFERRING FROM THE TAXPAYERS TO PROFESSIONAL BUREAUCRATS THE POWER TO MAKE DECISIONS ON
FISCAL POLICY -- TURNING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OVER TO PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT ARE NOT
ACCOUNTABLE TO THE VOTERS -- DESTROYING THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF DEMOCRATIC ACCOUNTABILITY & SUBJECTING
THE PEOPLE TO OPPRESSIVE TAXATION
FULL STORY:
American roads are the hottest commodity in the international marketplace. State and local governments are falling all over
themselves to sell off highways, bridges, and all sorts of other revenue-producing infrastructure to international financiers
who are eager to snap up structures Americans have already paid for, and for which they continue to pay maintenance costs
through endless taxes.
The Chicago Skyway, for example, brought $1.83 billion from a Spanish-Australian partnership. The 157-mile Indiana tollway,
brought $3.85 billion from the same partnership. And the State of Texas has recently concluded a deal to sell a Trans-Texas
Corridor for $7.2 billion to the same Spanish company who partnered with a Texas construction company.
What’s going on here? Why are government officials so eager to sell off our infrastructure? Because it’s a win-win deal for
everyone -- except the people who pay taxes and use the highways. Governments get a pot full of cash up front, and the
“public-private” partnerships get a longterm cash-cow. The taxpayers and highway users get ______, well, you fill in the
blank.
Actually, these “sales” are longterm leases, which are much worse than an outright sale. The Chicago Skyway deal is for 99
years. The Indiana Tollway is for 75 years. In what condition will these important roads be when they are returned to
government? The folks who celebrate the deals today -- and spend the billions -- will be pushing up daisies by the time a
new crop of government officials will have to explain why the roads have crumbled.
The roads that exist today were bought with taxes and tolls. They are maintained with taxes and tolls. Neither taxes nor tolls
will be reduced when these roads are sold to public-private partnerships. In fact, taxes are likely to increase, and the tolls are
certain to increase. Tolls for commercial use on the Indiana Tollway were scheduled to double during the first three years of
the deal. Auto tolls would remain flat for the first three years, and then “catch up” with the commercial rate.
When the taxpayers and highway users get slapped in the budget by these increases, and complain to their elected officials,
the elected officials can do nothing but say “we’re sorry, it’s out of our hands for the next 99 years.” When the roads begin
to crumble and potholes begin to appear, elected officials can do nothing but say, “we’re sorry, it’s out of our hands for the
next 99 years.”
When the people of Texas learned about the $7.2 billion deal the state was constructing, they overwhelmed the State
Legislature and demanded a two-year moratorium during which the consequences of the deal could be studied. The
moratorium legislation passed the State House of Representatives and the State Senate by a combined vote of 165 to 5 --
more than enough to override the Governor’s threatened veto. But legislators are trying to take the teeth out of the legislation
by exempting half the roads in Texas.
The Chairman of the Texas Senate Transportation Committee says that the public-private partnership project must go forward,
because the State has not raised gasoline taxes in 16 years, and there’s not enough money to build the roads that are
desperately needed.
Well, now, he didn’t say what portion of the state and federal gasoline taxes were spent on non-highway projects. He didn’t
say why the gasoline taxes were not increased if a valid need existed. He didn’t say why the state could not raise the
necessary construction funds the same way the public-private partnership will raise it -- by pledging future revenues to pay
for the funds borrowed. He didn’t say why he is eager to turn public transportation over to a public-private partnership that
is not accountable to the voters.
There is another reason for the media hype and popularity of public-private partnership funding. To meet the anticipated
construction costs of the NAFTA Super-Corridor network, incredible sums of capital must be amassed -- rather quickly. Not
all cities or states have the expertise or the credit worthiness to structure a multi-billion-dollar financing package. It’s much
easier to turn to an outfit that has done it before -- and damn the consequences that will fall on another generation.
The sale, or longterm lease, of the nation’s infrastructure is not just a fix for immediate congestion problems; it is a method
of financing a whole new infrastructure designed to allow goods to flow from Chinese-controlled ports in Mexico,
throughout the United States, and into Canada. Proponents of the project know that it will be much easier to get financing
from public-private partnerships than from taxpayers who are already over-taxed. Left up to the taxpayers in each state, the
international NAFTA Super-Corridor network would be in great jeopardy, if even one state refused to cooperate.
That’s why it is necessary to take the matter out of the hands of taxpayers, and let the professional bureaucrats do what
they know is best for the poor, uneducated taxpayers, who, in the end, must still pay the bill. The sale of the nation’s
infrastructure is nothing less than a national tragedy.
Fiscal Policy: Taxation & Government Spending
Infrastructure Problems & Issues:
Energy, Transportation, Water & Sewer Systems,
Security Systems, Education, & Parks & Recreational Facilities
Henry Lamb is Founder and Executive Vice President of the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO), which was
established in 1988 to protect property rights from erosion by excessive environmental regulations. Lamb is also Chairman
of Sovereignty International, an organization opposed to world government and to the statist policy agendas of political
environmentalists, global-warming alarmists, and Leftwing Liberals.
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume IX, 2007
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity