March 5, 2010
We invented the federal Highway Trust Fund in
1956, promising motorists and truckers that all proceeds from a new
federal gas tax would be spent on building the interstate system.
But as Reason Foundation Director of Transportation Studies Robert
Poole notes, they aren't. Congress has expanded federal highway
spending beyond interstates to all types of roadways. And ever
since 1982, a portion of those "highway user taxes" have been
diverted to urban transit. Today, the federal role in
transportation includes mandating sidewalks, funding bike paths,
and creating scenic trails.
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