For Whom the Road Tolls

"To toll or not to toll?" — that's not much of a question.

Gov. Rick "39-percent" Perry has spent years pushing toll roads for wealthy special interests, much like one of those not-too-slick snake oil salesmen that used to get run out of towns throughout Texas. This session, he again went before the state Senate and House to preach the toll agenda. More or less, Perry repeatedly says that without toll roads Texas won't be building any more roadways any time soon.

Too many elected officials, transportation committees, and Texas residents previously bought into what the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) told them — among other things, that roads can be built more quickly only if they are toll roads, that there isn’t enough taxpayer money to build and maintain roadways, that toll roads will decrease traffic and pollution, etc., etc. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), cities, and legislators were told that if they did not approve the Central Texas Toll Plan, a deadline would be reached and available financing would be diverted to other areas that approved the plan. These are all bogus "shock and awe" statements that lack credibility; there is no study that proves them. To make matters worse, they are part of an uneducated and fact-less mentality that is shared by too many people.

Here’s the real deal on toll roads. The bottom line is that you can believe whatever you want to and so can our elected officials, but there is no doubt that many special interests, both individuals and groups, will benefit financially and directly from toll roads. Furthermore, foreign companies (e.g. CINTRA) and domestic partners (e.g. Zachry Construction) will snatch up to 80 percent off the top of toll road revenues each year for the next 70 to 90 years. Exactly how does that benefit Texas families? How is that cost-effective? How does that use taxpayer and toll tax dollars for the the maximum benefit for the community at large?

TxDOT has been crying "poverty" for years, saying that it doesn't have enough tax dollars to build and maintain Texas roadways. Meanwhile, the agency has been sitting on millions of taxpayer dollars and federal funds and collecting the interest. Recently TxDOT stated publicly that it was soon to return federal dollars back to Washington because it didn't use the money as intended. Meanwhile, the agency invested that money and received millions in interest without having to pay a fee for "borrowing" the federal funds. Wouldn't we all like to do that? Wouldn't it be illegal for any of us to do that?

Texas homeowners have been paying astronomical state property taxes (that some, including the Texas Supreme Court, believe are illegal) for years. Furthermore, with issues of voting machine integrity and voter fraud emerging more and more, do you really want to go with the pro-toll opinion that toll roads are the only way to finance the building and maintenance of Texas roadways without real proof? Do you want generations of Texas children and their families to pay an infinite toll tax, paying out millions to private companies for building, managing and operating toll roads and plazas? Don't forget, once toll roadways are implemented they usually remain forever — never following their original purpose, which was to remain active until the tolls collected had paid for the road built.