Underestimating long-term consequences of cryptoanarchy

[Bill Frantz]

At 3:00 PM -0700 5/9/03, Declan McCullagh wrote:
>On Fri, May 09, 2003 at 06:00:21PM -0400, BobCat wrote:
>> Not impossible, though:
>>
>> http://www.dullesgreenway.com/cgi-bin/dginfo.cfm
>>
>> The Dulles Greenway is a privately owned 14-mile toll road that connects
>> Washington Dulles International Airport with Leesburg, Virginia. The
>> Greenway is the first private toll road in Virginia since 1816.
>> Since the Greenway's dedication on September 29th 1995, commuters have
>> enjoyed a non-stop alternative to Routes 7 and 28.
>
>Yep, it's a good counterexample to the general rule. But I recall that
>when land acquisition began, that area near Lessburg was still
>primarily farm country, which is easier to accumulate in terms of parcels.
>Also it's unclear that it was entirely private -- the web page talks
>about planning beginning after a 1988 state law was enacted...

Perhaps there is a reason that the 5th amendment provided for eminent
domain.  And, given the government camel nose under the tent, how far do
you let it in?  It would be nice to introduce some competition to keep
CalTrans honest.  OTOH, I like the low transaction costs, and the
reasonably accurate allocation of cost that go with a fuel tax based road
system.  (The heavier vehicles use more gas, are harder on the roads, and
pay more per mile.  The people who drive more, pay more tax.  That seems
roughly fair.  OTOH, it's not clear that the current system builds roads
where they are most needed.  And there is undoubtedly waste in the system.
The computer system scandals come immediately to mind.)

Perhaps if some of the gas tax was allocated to support the private toll
roads, perhaps a percentage of mileage carried...  Of course that approach
would work best for maintenance, not construction, which is a more of a
gamble on future behavior.

Cheers - Bill


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