Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (Full Version)

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pahunkboy -> Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 5:58:38 AM)

http://www.dailyitem.com/homepage/local_story_321001513.html?keyword=topstory

Watch this issue. As it is being played out in several states.  With so many jobs outsourced- we took quite a hit economically- heck- 3 out of 10 houses in this town are EMPTY!  Folks just walk away.

It isnt so much a toll that bother me. But the AMOUNT of the toll. The PA toll commission thru a lavish bash-with collector plates and trinkets for the 50th anniversery. How is THAT related to running a road.  A toll way- one is sorta paying for closer clean bathrooms, easy food and gas. i80 in PA -the bathrooms are 60 miles apart.  Not 30 per the typical design. Certainly a clean open bathroom is a service I would pay for. But not an apulant museum-stadium, gala ball hall.



SugarMyChurro -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 7:06:17 AM)

As usual, the corporation doesn't want to take the economic hit that it actually has coming to it. Hauling freight is an extraordinary use of the road that few other travels can't match for the damage it does to the highway itself. Look at those right-most lanes of the highway - always bumpy and torn up. Why? Trucks, hauling freight are really heavy and tear the asphalt up.

Now personally I think that I-80 should be maintained as a matter of national pride in our infrastructure and by the federal government. But I wouldn't be above raising taxes on the people that cause unusual wear and tear on the highways either. Trucking isn't ordinary travelling, trucking fucks up the roads big time.

This is just one more way corporations are always looking for a free ride and/or a subsidy.



subfever -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 11:29:50 AM)

Corporations do look for subsidies. Nevertheless, under the current system, I can't help but think that taxing corporate transports more would quickly trickle down as higher costs to the end consumers.

If you don't agree, what leads you to believe otherwise? 



TheHeretic -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 11:30:23 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SugarMyChurro

Trucking isn't ordinary travelling, trucking fucks up the roads big time.




           Sugar, unless you are in the position of growing your own food, weaving your own clothes, and refining your own gasoline, you might want to reconsider your comments.

        Trucking is the reason we have an interstate highway system.  It is a critical pillar of our economy.  The Interstate system needs to be maintained to the standards that industry needs and access should be unfettered for them.  Truckers already pay much higher rates for tags and tickets (a class A driver can just add a zero to whatever fine would given to driver with a class C) and they are paying taxes on easily 100 gallons of fuel every day.

       And I'll let you in on a secret.  Truckers are often highly independent sorts of people who are going to find little ways around the tolls.  The result would probably be MORE damage on the back roads that aren't designed for the weight and stress, as truckers dodge the tollhouses.



SugarMyChurro -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 4:35:19 PM)

WTF, people - yes, things cost something. But with things like roads and almost all utilities it just makes sense to handle them as a collective. And yes, some users of the highway should be taxed more for their extraordinary usage. And also yes, that cost might have to be passed onto consumers to realize a profit.

And?!

[8|]




subrob1967 -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 4:48:09 PM)

Truckers already pay for road use, thru IFTA permits, state permits, & fuel taxes. PA doesn't need another toll road, the turnpike is more than enough.

If you're whining about roads not being able to take the abuse, set higher construction standards, and manufacture roads that can handle the stress.



SugarMyChurro -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 5:12:23 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: subrob1967
If you're whining about roads not being able to take the abuse, set higher construction standards, and manufacture roads that can handle the stress.


I'm not complaining at all. I just observe that the damage is done and that we know by whom. I am not an engineer such that I know whether we have better road building options. I do know who should pay for it though, if we do.



TheHeretic -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 5:41:59 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SugarMyChurro

I do know who should pay for it though, if we do.



        So you think we should hand the whole industry off to the corporations huh?  Because levying further fees on the truckers is just going to drive more of the small independent companies and owner-operators right out of the business.

        Consumers are going pay the costs, one way or another.



SugarMyChurro -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 5:54:44 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic
So you think we should hand the whole industry off to the corporations huh?


I don't know what that means. I don't favor privatization in any way really. Roads should be handled through taxes not tolls, and truckers should pay more in their various fees and licensing because of the damage they do to the roads.

My scheme is that simple.





TheHeretic -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 6:13:32 PM)

          That's already how it is, Sugar.

In 2005, the trucking industry in West Virginia paid approximately $253 million in federal and state roadway taxes and fees, or 40 percent of all taxes and fees paid by all motorists.


  • Although the industry pays  40 percent of all federal and state highway user fees and taxes, trucking represents just 14 percent of vehicle miles traveled in the state.
  • In 2005, a typical five-axle tractor-semi trailer combination paid $8,187 in state highway user fees and taxes. This ranks West Virginia 14th in the nation


             That's just a 5 second google.  It's worse than that in other places.



    • dcnovice -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 6:15:55 PM)

    quote:

    Consumers are going pay the costs, one way or another.


    Rich is right. If we don't pay it through taxes, we'll pay it through higher prices for goods shipped via truck.



    HaveRopeWillBind -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 6:22:23 PM)

    Maybe if roads were not constructed and repaired by the lowest bidder then trucks would not damage them. An 80,000 lb truck traveling at 65 or 70 mph will indeed stress concrete or asphalt, but not nearly as much as a 300,000 lb aircraft touching down firmly at 150 mph and then braking hard. Yet you never see tire ruts or potholes in runways. It's more a factor of building the pavement to handle the loads expected than just putting more taxes on truckers to pay for poorly constructed roads to be poorly re-built. Any tax put on a truck get passed on to the company that hired the truck to haul their load. That will always trickle down to the consumer. So any taxes added to the roads become consumer taxes.



    TheHeretic -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 9:35:52 PM)

          Flightlines also receive a much higher level of maintenance than your typical freeway.  Cracks are promptly sealed, long before moisture has a chance to reach the subgrade and let the damage really get rolling. 



    subfever -> RE: Companies say I-80 plan to cost them millions (11/17/2007 10:39:40 PM)

    quote:

    ORIGINAL: SugarMyChurro

    WTF, people - yes, things cost something. But with things like roads and almost all utilities it just makes sense to handle them as a collective. And yes, some users of the highway should be taxed more for their extraordinary usage. And also yes, that cost might have to be passed onto consumers to realize a profit.

    And?!

    [8|]




    Okay then, if you agree that additional taxes imposed upon corporate transports for extraordinary usage would soon trickle down to the end consumer, is there any particular reason why you want the corporate transports to be taxed in the first place? 



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