Gov Bentley Likes Toll Roads

I am going to rail against another Republican-led bad idea, here. The bad idea is the State government using toll roads to raise revenue to build and maintain roads.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110403/NEWS02/104030317/1002/SPORTS/Governor-looking-toll-roads-meet-state-s-highway-needs-?odyssey=nav|head

Bentley has charged the state highway department with looking at an alternative to meet the needs here.

"I think selected toll roads is something I want to look at," the gov­ernor said.

Bentley, a Republican, said toll roads would add to the state's high­way infrastructure and create jobs.

He said the state not only needs money to build roads and bridges, but also there is a need for funding for fu­ture maintenance.

Look, we ALREADY pay taxes for road/highway maintenance and construction. Using toll roads just makes us pay FOREVER for those roads.

There are good ways to raise revenue and bad ways to raise revenue. Letting the government go into business for itself running toll roads, and forcing us to pay over and over again to travel on public roads is, trust me, a bad idea.


I mean, really... is the Alabama State Government REALLY telling us that they can't even provide us with what most everyone agrees is an essential public service: public roads? If they can't, then it's time to strip funding from other, non-essential areas to make ends meet. If you can't even keep the roads open to the public who paid for them in the first place, then you might as well hang it up and find a different job, Governor.

Raising revenue won't do anything to balance the budget... if the Legislature HAS that money, they'll find SOMETHING to spend it on. It's time to look closely at HOW we spend that money, instead of trying to bilk more money out of an already over-taxed populace.

I guess this is the GOP version of Change You Can Believe In... but wouldn't choose for yourself in a million years.