Reporter Gary Scharrer of the San Antonio Express-News posted this item
today on the Texas Legislature's new-found aversion to the toll road scheme
promoted by the transportation department. A gala hearing on the Trans-Texas
Corridor and toll road schemes will take place in the Senate Transportation
and Homeland Security Committee at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Toll road opponents have pointed toward this opportunity for months, if not
years, and the hearing represents yet another aspect of the crumbling
architecture of the 2003 Texas Legislature's handiwork, which promoted
privatization, deregulation and ramping up of gubernatorial power as tools
of ideological change before determining whether they were tools of good
government:

Toll rates to increase so high, state leaders can't even say

Texans can expect to pay more to drive on state-run toll roads -- a lot
more.

But just how much more, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst can't say because of
confidentiality agreements that the Texas Department of Transportation has
with private companies building the toll roads.

"I'm about as angry about what's happening with the Texas Department of
Transportation," Dewhurst said moments after he skewered the Texas Youth
Commission after reports of inmate abuse by top agency officials.

Although Dewhurst could not specifically say how much toll rates will be in
the future, he described those rates as "astronomical."

TxDOT is negotiating with private companies that allow them to build roads
and charge tolls for large upfont fees.

"The Legislature has no idea what those agreements are," Dewhurst said.
The toll road contracts run for 50 years.

Halfway into the contract, toll rates will skyrocket to unimaginable levels,
warned Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Chair John Carona,
R-Dallas.

And state leaders will be restricted because of "significant penalties for
building other roads, competing roads," Carona said.

At some point Texas will either have to pay billions of dollars to buy back
the toll roads or "accept very high rates for very long periods of time."

Carona proposes to link the state's gasoline tax rate to the consumer price
index for automatic adjustments to keep pace with inflation. The state's
gasoline tax, now at 20 cents per gallon, has not changed since 1991.

The state's current gasoline tax is 3.6 cents under the national average.

On the flip side, you don't pay income tax

Before long they will be putting taxi meters in our cars and we will have to pay to drive our own cars

Well, come on to Kansas.  Not only do we have income taxes, real estate taxes and toll roads, but also property taxes on just about everything you own.   Better have some deep pockets if you own a car, camper, boat, RV and many other things.  Don't you just love our elected leaders and government?   Sure would be nice to get somebody that is concerned about the common man. 

You all could always move to Washington  We don't have toll roads, or income tax, and we are getting our first toll bridge that doesn't effect me at all now that I changed work locations. 

Let's not forget the death tax in Oklahoma.  We get the farm (in most cases, literally).  It gets debated every year, but the greedy b@st@rds can't seem to find it in their pea brains to remove their hands from our pockets even after we are dead.

We have it all, property, estate, income, sales, vehicle, sin, luxury.  You name it, we tax it! 

Isn't funny that we revolted against England because of taxes and now we pay a higher percentage than we paid in the 1770's.

I'll say it Aceinthehole49