The Privatization Of The Indiana Toll Road: A Symptom Of A More Malignant Disease
Ever since Governor Mitch Daniels managed to hornswaggle Hoosier legislators into allowing a joint venture consortium involving the Spanish Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A. and Australian Macquarie Infrastructure Group to lease the Indiana Toll Road (Interstate 80 and 90) for a reported $3.8 Billion, there has been a great divide among the politicans and the constituents in the Northern parts of Indiana.
The Toll Road is one of America's great highways, connecting Ohio to Illinois, running through the upper most regions of Indiana. It is one of the major trucking routes connecting the east coast, the central eastern states, the eastern seaboard and most of the country. It also brings truckloads of food from California, the Corn Belt, the Rice Belt and meat from packing houses in Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois. It is also known as the "Steel Highway" because it connects the steel mills and the metal fabricators associated with these mills from Chicago all the way back to parts of New York and Pennsylvania.
The Toll Road is also the great connector for all of "Michiana" (the crossover regions where Indiana borders Michigan), "Illiana" (the crossover regions connecting Indiana to Illinois) and the pathway to the best tailgate parties in the entire nation... Southbend and the Notre Dame parking lots.
Beyond all of those cultural, business, manufacturing and economic connections, the Toll Road is a major plank in our homeland defense and security. Interstate highways are the link that allows our military units to travel from one location to another during a national crisis, an invasion or a national disaster. Designed and built primarily during the Eisenhower administration (in fact the entire Interstate System is often called the "Eisenhower Interstate System"), the original specifications for these roads were implemented with the idea of moving military vehicles quickly and efficiently from one location to another. In fact, the major funds for building and maintaining these roads come from the federal government. The taxes paid on gasoline and diesel fuel are, for the most part, supposed to go toward keeping these roads open, properly maintained and monitored. Tolls collected on these roads are, by federal mandate, supposed to be spent proportionally on the maintenance and upkeep in accordance with military and national security standards.
Here in Indiana, though, the Toll Road has always been the source of acrimony among Hoosier politicians. The funds collected as tolls never seemed to be spent in a proportionally appropriate manner. During those times when there was an excess of revenues from the Toll Road, very little of that excess made its way back to the northern regions of the state. Like most revenue-generating endeavors, there always seems to be a manipulation of the process so that Marion County and other, downstate, Republican-dominated regions reaped the benefits of the Toll Road.
Still, we have to agree that $3.8 Billion is a LARGE NUMBER and the state can use the revenue. But is this a legitimate way to raise these revenues? Or is this approach just an immediate gratification effort, symptomatic of our "quick-fix" mentality that seems to permeate the "business mindset" that is offered by Mitch Daniels and his GOP supporters?
All too often we are told that government needs to be run more like business. The intentions of such statements is to assure more stringent accountability on how funds are used and/or recording for accounting purposes. While the GOP argues that promoting arts, cultural events, gym classes, music curriculums, easily accessed BMV offices, and any money spent on "welfare" is inherently contrary to good government, it seems that many--if not all--GOP politicians forget that government is NOT supposed to be a business. It seems that the GOP is all too willing to sell us short in matters of principle in favor of making a buck and balancing the accounting card. Yes, we do need to be fiscally sound. We do need to balance our budgets and assure that money is spent wisely. But government has seven basic reasons for existing:
1. "Form a more perfect union": Establishing and maintaining a government that is based on reason, sound judgment, fiscal reliability and service to "we the people" as a whole.
2. "Establish justice": Assuring that all that government endeavors are handled in a manner that is fair, equitable, reasoned, and in compliance with not only the letter of the law, but the intent of the law, equally and equitably applied to all persons.
3. "Insure domestic tranquility": Despite being a government based on a confrontational process, the goal of good government is to hammer out details, programs and outcomes that lead us to work together and build a harmonious relationship. Our politics are not supposed to be about making money, asserting power, or even winning the arguments. Our politics are supposed to be about making the system work in the best way possible.
4. "Provide for the common defense": Our government is supposed to assure that our police, militias, national guard units, sheriffs, and other officials do everything REASONABLE within their powers to protect us from crime, social ills, invasion, terrorism, disaster and the violation of our basic rights and principles.
5. "Promote the general welfare": Government has a role in assuring that we are healthy; able to live, work and play in communities where equal access to opportunity and services is in effect; and that we are not left to the whims of the marketplace alone in terms of economics, health care, education and other basic needs.
6. "Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves": Government is supposed to assure that liberty, as defined by both the US Constitution and the Indiana Constitution, is held inviolate. In our efforts to do all of the things listed above, government is not allowed to become dictatorial in nature. We are not intended to have governments that are nothing more than benevolent dicatators, but are supposed to be directly involved in self-governing, and have protections against the tyranny of group think, majority rules and prejudices.
7. "Secure the blessings of liberty to our posterity": Our government is supposed to make sure that its decisions, actions and endeavors preserve all of the above conditions, principles and objectives for future generations.
If we examine the leasing of the Toll Road under the umbrella of these seven principles of government--which are embedded in both the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Indiana--we can see that the plan for the Toll Road fails to rise to a level that remotely resembles good government.
The conflict over the Toll Road, even before the leasing proposal went into effect, was divisive in nature. It was to the benefit of a certain portion of Hoosiers and ultimately to the detriment of another portion of the population, especially those for whom the Toll Road should have reasonably been expected to help.
The way in which the Toll Road has been managed is anything but just. The decision to lease the Toll Road came about without any genuine input from the people in the regions where the road passes, and public comment was not allowed in the process. Voters were not given a say in the deal. There has been little--if any--justice in this matter.
The political process was hijacked by the fact that Mitch Daniels had no one to raise questions about the decision-making process used to invite the consortium into the picture, never mind the decision-making about passing the deal along. There wasn't even a hint of an effort to work out the difficulties and deal with those of us that wanted to raise issue and get answers. Domestic tranquility wasn't even an after thought.
Since the Toll Road will soon be turned over to a foreign corporation with no genuine interest in our safety and security, beyond making a fast buck, there is no assurance that the standards of the Interstate Highway System will be applied. In fact, the standards of INDOT will no longer apply to any construction, repairs, maintenance or management of the roadway. The rules and regulations put into place to protect our environment, provide safety for workers, ensure that revenues raised by the road will be spent appropriately, and provide for the efficient transportation of national or state military troops, equipment, weapons or other vehicles will no longer be fully in place. The leasing of the Toll Road has, much like the Dubai Ports deal, sold off our infrastructure to a foreign entity, with foreign interests placed above and before our own safety and security.
Further, as was revealed to me in several quick conversations with existing Toll Road workers, there isn't even a guarantee that current employees--all of whom are Hoosiers--will be able to keep their jobs, their current rates of pay, benefits or job security. The taxes collected from Toll Road worker income may be lessened because salaries and pay checks may indeed be lowered. Those that are not able to take lower pay will be forced out of their jobs and onto the unemployment rolls, and eventually back to work. Every job lost or disrupted will be income lost for the local retailers. Families that suffer job disruption, pay cuts and worry about their future will likely tighten their belts in terms of health care and health maintenance. Additionally, those same families will have to tighten their belts on paying their bills, causing yet another hit to our local economy. Having been the victim of job disruption just after the incidents on 9-11-2001, I can attest that recovery takes longer than one might expect. In short, the Toll Road lease program does not promote the general welfare in the long term.
Anyone with a lick of sense can see that there is no liberty in the process used to force the Toll Road down our throats. We, the people, were essentially excluded from the decison-making process. Our political leadership abandoned principle, abandoned reason and went for the short-sighted quick-fix because they saw dollar signs and ignored the long-term repercussions of the decision. Not only did this approach abandon liberty in the here and now, it put the next five to ten generations of Hoosiers at risk of losing liberty as well. Since we, the people, are all but excluded from all future decision-making regarding the Toll Road, we do not get to participate in a political process that compels certain actions, distributes future income and revenues associated with the Toll Road, and essentially surrenders the ability of future generations from ever undoing the injustice that Mitch Daniels and company have done to us, in our names, and against all reason.
Like so many other political processes, we have placed our state--and our nation--on the auction block. In the process we have failed to ask if we are also selling our souls at a discount price.
The Toll Road is one of America's great highways, connecting Ohio to Illinois, running through the upper most regions of Indiana. It is one of the major trucking routes connecting the east coast, the central eastern states, the eastern seaboard and most of the country. It also brings truckloads of food from California, the Corn Belt, the Rice Belt and meat from packing houses in Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois. It is also known as the "Steel Highway" because it connects the steel mills and the metal fabricators associated with these mills from Chicago all the way back to parts of New York and Pennsylvania.
The Toll Road is also the great connector for all of "Michiana" (the crossover regions where Indiana borders Michigan), "Illiana" (the crossover regions connecting Indiana to Illinois) and the pathway to the best tailgate parties in the entire nation... Southbend and the Notre Dame parking lots.
Beyond all of those cultural, business, manufacturing and economic connections, the Toll Road is a major plank in our homeland defense and security. Interstate highways are the link that allows our military units to travel from one location to another during a national crisis, an invasion or a national disaster. Designed and built primarily during the Eisenhower administration (in fact the entire Interstate System is often called the "Eisenhower Interstate System"), the original specifications for these roads were implemented with the idea of moving military vehicles quickly and efficiently from one location to another. In fact, the major funds for building and maintaining these roads come from the federal government. The taxes paid on gasoline and diesel fuel are, for the most part, supposed to go toward keeping these roads open, properly maintained and monitored. Tolls collected on these roads are, by federal mandate, supposed to be spent proportionally on the maintenance and upkeep in accordance with military and national security standards.
Here in Indiana, though, the Toll Road has always been the source of acrimony among Hoosier politicians. The funds collected as tolls never seemed to be spent in a proportionally appropriate manner. During those times when there was an excess of revenues from the Toll Road, very little of that excess made its way back to the northern regions of the state. Like most revenue-generating endeavors, there always seems to be a manipulation of the process so that Marion County and other, downstate, Republican-dominated regions reaped the benefits of the Toll Road.
Still, we have to agree that $3.8 Billion is a LARGE NUMBER and the state can use the revenue. But is this a legitimate way to raise these revenues? Or is this approach just an immediate gratification effort, symptomatic of our "quick-fix" mentality that seems to permeate the "business mindset" that is offered by Mitch Daniels and his GOP supporters?
All too often we are told that government needs to be run more like business. The intentions of such statements is to assure more stringent accountability on how funds are used and/or recording for accounting purposes. While the GOP argues that promoting arts, cultural events, gym classes, music curriculums, easily accessed BMV offices, and any money spent on "welfare" is inherently contrary to good government, it seems that many--if not all--GOP politicians forget that government is NOT supposed to be a business. It seems that the GOP is all too willing to sell us short in matters of principle in favor of making a buck and balancing the accounting card. Yes, we do need to be fiscally sound. We do need to balance our budgets and assure that money is spent wisely. But government has seven basic reasons for existing:
1. "Form a more perfect union": Establishing and maintaining a government that is based on reason, sound judgment, fiscal reliability and service to "we the people" as a whole.
2. "Establish justice": Assuring that all that government endeavors are handled in a manner that is fair, equitable, reasoned, and in compliance with not only the letter of the law, but the intent of the law, equally and equitably applied to all persons.
3. "Insure domestic tranquility": Despite being a government based on a confrontational process, the goal of good government is to hammer out details, programs and outcomes that lead us to work together and build a harmonious relationship. Our politics are not supposed to be about making money, asserting power, or even winning the arguments. Our politics are supposed to be about making the system work in the best way possible.
4. "Provide for the common defense": Our government is supposed to assure that our police, militias, national guard units, sheriffs, and other officials do everything REASONABLE within their powers to protect us from crime, social ills, invasion, terrorism, disaster and the violation of our basic rights and principles.
5. "Promote the general welfare": Government has a role in assuring that we are healthy; able to live, work and play in communities where equal access to opportunity and services is in effect; and that we are not left to the whims of the marketplace alone in terms of economics, health care, education and other basic needs.
6. "Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves": Government is supposed to assure that liberty, as defined by both the US Constitution and the Indiana Constitution, is held inviolate. In our efforts to do all of the things listed above, government is not allowed to become dictatorial in nature. We are not intended to have governments that are nothing more than benevolent dicatators, but are supposed to be directly involved in self-governing, and have protections against the tyranny of group think, majority rules and prejudices.
7. "Secure the blessings of liberty to our posterity": Our government is supposed to make sure that its decisions, actions and endeavors preserve all of the above conditions, principles and objectives for future generations.
If we examine the leasing of the Toll Road under the umbrella of these seven principles of government--which are embedded in both the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Indiana--we can see that the plan for the Toll Road fails to rise to a level that remotely resembles good government.
The conflict over the Toll Road, even before the leasing proposal went into effect, was divisive in nature. It was to the benefit of a certain portion of Hoosiers and ultimately to the detriment of another portion of the population, especially those for whom the Toll Road should have reasonably been expected to help.
The way in which the Toll Road has been managed is anything but just. The decision to lease the Toll Road came about without any genuine input from the people in the regions where the road passes, and public comment was not allowed in the process. Voters were not given a say in the deal. There has been little--if any--justice in this matter.
The political process was hijacked by the fact that Mitch Daniels had no one to raise questions about the decision-making process used to invite the consortium into the picture, never mind the decision-making about passing the deal along. There wasn't even a hint of an effort to work out the difficulties and deal with those of us that wanted to raise issue and get answers. Domestic tranquility wasn't even an after thought.
Since the Toll Road will soon be turned over to a foreign corporation with no genuine interest in our safety and security, beyond making a fast buck, there is no assurance that the standards of the Interstate Highway System will be applied. In fact, the standards of INDOT will no longer apply to any construction, repairs, maintenance or management of the roadway. The rules and regulations put into place to protect our environment, provide safety for workers, ensure that revenues raised by the road will be spent appropriately, and provide for the efficient transportation of national or state military troops, equipment, weapons or other vehicles will no longer be fully in place. The leasing of the Toll Road has, much like the Dubai Ports deal, sold off our infrastructure to a foreign entity, with foreign interests placed above and before our own safety and security.
Further, as was revealed to me in several quick conversations with existing Toll Road workers, there isn't even a guarantee that current employees--all of whom are Hoosiers--will be able to keep their jobs, their current rates of pay, benefits or job security. The taxes collected from Toll Road worker income may be lessened because salaries and pay checks may indeed be lowered. Those that are not able to take lower pay will be forced out of their jobs and onto the unemployment rolls, and eventually back to work. Every job lost or disrupted will be income lost for the local retailers. Families that suffer job disruption, pay cuts and worry about their future will likely tighten their belts in terms of health care and health maintenance. Additionally, those same families will have to tighten their belts on paying their bills, causing yet another hit to our local economy. Having been the victim of job disruption just after the incidents on 9-11-2001, I can attest that recovery takes longer than one might expect. In short, the Toll Road lease program does not promote the general welfare in the long term.
Anyone with a lick of sense can see that there is no liberty in the process used to force the Toll Road down our throats. We, the people, were essentially excluded from the decison-making process. Our political leadership abandoned principle, abandoned reason and went for the short-sighted quick-fix because they saw dollar signs and ignored the long-term repercussions of the decision. Not only did this approach abandon liberty in the here and now, it put the next five to ten generations of Hoosiers at risk of losing liberty as well. Since we, the people, are all but excluded from all future decision-making regarding the Toll Road, we do not get to participate in a political process that compels certain actions, distributes future income and revenues associated with the Toll Road, and essentially surrenders the ability of future generations from ever undoing the injustice that Mitch Daniels and company have done to us, in our names, and against all reason.
Like so many other political processes, we have placed our state--and our nation--on the auction block. In the process we have failed to ask if we are also selling our souls at a discount price.
posted by Jim Downey at 8:48 PM
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