Some other things to ponder for the next time you are sitting on a congested highway…
When I talk to people about tolling roads, most people immediately reject the idea entirely. I like to ask them to think about it next time they are in a traffic jam. Hey, if you sit in traffic, you probably spend a lot of time thinking… So, next time you are waiting for the car ahead of them to move, think of what dollar amount you would be willing to pay to avoid the traffic jam in order to get to your destination.
Then, think of waiting in a long bread line, as if the only source of food were free government bread. Obviously, the bread is underpriced. How much would you be willing to pay for a loaf of bread to avoid the line? Recall the price you were willing to pay to avoid traffic and ask yourself whether roads are priced correctly.
Interestingly, almost all people are fully willing to pay for bread, a staple of life, while we tend to think of roads as “too important to leave to private companies.” So from now on, think of a bread line every time you are sitting in traffic.
After a few commutes, you might be ready for some more thinking on the subject. Once you’ve learned to recognize the socialism of the highways, think about how tolled roads might affect where you decide to live. Would you live further away from your destination, and gladly pay for a congestion-free commute? Or would you choose to live closer to work, to pay less in tolls?
Now, keeping in mind that most highways are congestion-free when they are originally built, ponder how socialized roads effect living patterns. Had roads been priced properly, would the outlying areas of your metropolitan area have developed as they did?
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