Unleash private sector? That dog don't hunt
By Rod Nofziger
Director of Government Affairs
Imagine a day in the not-too-far-off future, let’s say 10 years or so from now. You are planning to run a load along the turnpikes from Philadelphia to Chicago. Now that Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana – along with the city of Chicago – have privatized their turnpikes, the trip will cost you upwards of $400 in tolls.
Want to duck the tolls? Your options are significantly limited. Most alternative routes are either too congested from traffic diverted off the toll pikes, or not available because local folks got tired of all the big rigs running through town and banned trucks. Some have tolls on them as well.
In fact, the interstates you might take to get around turnpike tolls are also up for sale by now – states ran out of money, again. By the way, you will also confront tolls out West where states like Montana and Utah have jumped on the tolling and privatization bandwagons.
Before heading down the road, do not forget to factor in the costs from increased fuel taxes, permitting fees and mileage weight taxes that the federal government and states have instituted. They had to do that to fill the holes left in transportation funding after they squandered away taxpayers’ money.
Also, be sure to think through every conceivable manner in which you can cut your on-the-road expenses.
Whether you are an owner-op or a company driver, you better believe the increased tolls and taxes are coming out of your bottom line in some form or fashion.
I realize this outlook on the future may sound like a “sky is falling” scenario, but unfortunately it’s not. The prospects for this becoming reality are all-too real.
Following the examples set by Chicago and Indiana, states across the nation are talking with private companies about selling their roads for quick cash to solve their funding problems. As has been reported in Land Line Magazine, states in the mid-Atlantic region are already well on their way to signing deals for some of the nation’s most heavily traveled roads.
Proponents of privatizing U.S. highways claim that selling our roads – leasing complete control of a road for 75-99 years constitutes a “sale” in my book – is a way for governments to save taxpayer money by unleashing the private sector forces.
Hogwash.
Private companies are certainly not giving their money away. Plain and simple, those companies are out to make a profit.
In fact, the companies tossing around billions of dollars to invest in U.S. roads are out to rake in as much profit as they possibly can for their own investors.
The math is simple – the higher the toll revenue, the more their profits. The more their profits, the higher their stock prices. The higher their stock prices, the more money going into their pockets.
Proponents of privatization will also maintain that “monetizing infrastructure assets” – fancy lingo for “selling roads” – is the best way to reduce traffic congestion.
Again, hogwash.
Private companies are only interested in roads with high traffic volumes, particularly high volumes of truck traffic, and with few alternate routes that “compete” for that traffic. Those companies want to “induce” congestion on the roads they profit from, not reduce it. You will not find a company willing to ink a deal without the contract including non-compete clauses that restrict the state’s ability to expand or improve roads that run adjacent to the toll road being sold.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of politicians and public officials lining up to support these companies. Far too many of them are either chummy with the privatization folks, unwilling to tighten their belts and focus transportation spending in the right direction or looking for a quick fix to funding problems while they are in office, regardless of the future costs.
Of greatest concern is that officials at the U.S. DOT, with the blessing of the White House, are aggressively promoting the privatization of our highways. They have spent an extraordinary amount of time, effort and taxpayer resources to persuade state governments to talk with private companies and to pass legislation to enable the sale of their roads.
This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. Members of both parties are guilty of championing privatization. Fortunately, there are some Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill and in state governments who do understand the grave consequences of selling off our roads.
Your local, state and federal elected representatives need to hear from you. As truckers and as Americans we must do all that we can to keep the roads that we have bought and continue to pay for from being sold off to the highest bidder.
Selling our roads may be good for private companies and their investors. But, but it is certainly not good for those Americans who depend on those roads to make a living. And it’s a death sentence for our nation’s economic well-being.
