It looks like Norm Leahy is not the only one who wants to take a swat at the “Conservative Transportation Alternative” signed by Patrick McSweeney and other conservative activists. A former contributor to
Bacon’s Rebellion, who must go unnamed, was so riled up by the “Alternative,” that he submitted a rebuttal. It was substantive enough that I thought it warranted its own post on the blog. So, here goes… (–Jim Bacon)
Responding to the McSweeney, et. al. “Conservative Transportation Alternative” Paper.
The first overall comment is that the authors completely ignore 20 years of inflation. You would think 2007 and 1986 dollars were the same in purchasing power or in economic cost to the taxpayer. The authors know better than this, of course, but adjusting figures for inflation would undermine their premise that transportation spending has soared from $1.2 billion in 1986 to $4 billion last year. In reality, per capita, adjusted for inflation, state transportation funding has barely risen. And as has been well documented, construction funds are dropping.
JLARC’s most recent state spending report has a chart on actual expenditures (Appendix E) that shows state transportation spending rising 160 percent (in unadjusted dollars) from 1986-2007. In the same period total state spending rose 310 percent, education spending rose 275 percent and individual and family services spending rose 326 percent. Transportation spending has been flat since 2002 at $3.4 billion per year. (That is in actual dollars, meaning that real spending declined 2002-2007.) The infusions of General Fund money the authors cite have left us, like Alice’s Queen, running faster to stay in the same place.
The second major comment is specific and goes to the heart of the debate…. (click on “comments” to read the rest of this missive.)
Update: Pat McSweeney has written extended remarks in response to this post. Click on “comments” and scroll down to the 12th comment (12:54 p.m.) to read them.