Which Way Should We Pay?

On a per-mile basis, North Carolina is in the bottom five states in the nation in funding for highway construction and maintenance.

RALEIGH (By John Hood, Carolina Journal Online) – Among the factors inhibiting economic recovery in major areas of North Carolina is a lack of adequate, uncongested highway service. If policymakers could free up the traffic flow in these areas, they’d be more attractive places to create, relocate, or expand businesses.

But adding lanes, fixing bridges, and building new highways will cost money. There are really only three ways of obtaining the necessary funds: 1) redirect current highway revenues to higher-priority uses, 2) collect additional revenues by direct user fees (tolls), or 3) collect additional revenues by indirect user fees (higher gas and car taxes).