Too much power being grabbed by Washington -- Obamacare,
environmental regulations, education standards. That's a constant
complaint of conservatives not only during Barack Obama's presidency but
during George W. Bush's as well.
But power is also flowing
out of Washington, largely unnoticed, and back to the states and
localities. You can see that if you look at transportation policy, which
is following the same path as the little remembered federal revenue
sharing program enacted in the Nixon years and phased out during the
Reagan presidency.
Federal transportation spending has an even longer pedigree, dating from the Federal-Aid Highway Act signed by Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. A few states had already been building limited-access toll highways. The new law instituted a federal gasoline tax to pay for Interstates, as they became known, throughout the country.
It made sense at the time, and for years afterwards. There was much more economic disparity between states then, and federal money could be spread from rich states to poor. Interstates would make trucking transportation cheaper at a time when overregulation was making freight rail uneconomic. Routes between states could be coordinated, connecting all major metropolitan areas (though not those which would become major, notably Phoenix and Las Vegas).
But it doesn't work anymore. Gas tax revenue is flat lining because people haven't been driving as much since 2007. Gas mileage has improved, and increasing mileage standards and electric and hybrid vehicles will reduce revenues all the more.
So gas tax revenues are insufficient to replenish the Highway Trust Fund. Congress could increase the gas tax, but won't; it's highly unpopular and only a handful of members favor an increase. Barack Obama understands that and is not seeking one.
The alternative is to spend money from general revenues. But that puts a squeeze on discretionary spending because general revenues are and will be increasingly needed for entitlements -- Social Security and Medicare. In the meantime, Barack Obama has said, the best Congress "could do would be to stagger through another year" of temporary funding.
In effect, the feds are abdicating and the states are taking up the burden. New roads and bridges are needed in some places and, more important, existing roads need to be maintained, repaired and upgraded. More than 30 states have passed transportation fiscal measures in the last three years, according to transportation expert Ken Orski. Six have increased gas taxes. Others have increased highway tolls, floated toll revenue bonds or have passed sales taxes dedicated to transportation. "The move toward greater fiscal autonomy, self-sufficiency and financial innovation at the state and local level is likely to grow in strength," Orski wrote.
Federal transportation spending has an even longer pedigree, dating from the Federal-Aid Highway Act signed by Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. A few states had already been building limited-access toll highways. The new law instituted a federal gasoline tax to pay for Interstates, as they became known, throughout the country.
It made sense at the time, and for years afterwards. There was much more economic disparity between states then, and federal money could be spread from rich states to poor. Interstates would make trucking transportation cheaper at a time when overregulation was making freight rail uneconomic. Routes between states could be coordinated, connecting all major metropolitan areas (though not those which would become major, notably Phoenix and Las Vegas).
But it doesn't work anymore. Gas tax revenue is flat lining because people haven't been driving as much since 2007. Gas mileage has improved, and increasing mileage standards and electric and hybrid vehicles will reduce revenues all the more.
So gas tax revenues are insufficient to replenish the Highway Trust Fund. Congress could increase the gas tax, but won't; it's highly unpopular and only a handful of members favor an increase. Barack Obama understands that and is not seeking one.
The alternative is to spend money from general revenues. But that puts a squeeze on discretionary spending because general revenues are and will be increasingly needed for entitlements -- Social Security and Medicare. In the meantime, Barack Obama has said, the best Congress "could do would be to stagger through another year" of temporary funding.
In effect, the feds are abdicating and the states are taking up the burden. New roads and bridges are needed in some places and, more important, existing roads need to be maintained, repaired and upgraded. More than 30 states have passed transportation fiscal measures in the last three years, according to transportation expert Ken Orski. Six have increased gas taxes. Others have increased highway tolls, floated toll revenue bonds or have passed sales taxes dedicated to transportation. "The move toward greater fiscal autonomy, self-sufficiency and financial innovation at the state and local level is likely to grow in strength," Orski wrote.
