Children and Interstate 69
My children have begun to understand that the more you have, the more needs fixing. Bring ten toys into the house, or even ten books, and sure enough, one of them will shortly be downstairs in a messy pile I privately refer to as my “eventually maybe pile.” If all a given repair requires is wood glue or Scotch tape, said toy will be back in action overnight, but for more involved repairs, given our throwaway society, well…let’s think in terms of “eventually.” Maybe.
I note that the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission released a report today urging the federal government to increase gasoline taxes by up to forty cents a gallon over the next five years in order to cover infrastructure repair throughout the United States. Serves us right, say I. Having paved everything possible and bridged every stream––not to mention climbing every mountain––we are discovering the folly of build, build, build. Colleges and universities are facing the same dilemma: the more facilities you have, the more upkeep is required. Look at the junk people throw in their yards for further proof. That which can’t be fixed or easily thrown in a thirty-gallon trash can must be good for something. Growing a crop of tall weeds, perhaps.
Indiana, unfortunately, is very far behind the learning curve on all this. They still have pie-in-the-sky starry-eyed dreams about building Interstate 69, a route that will eventually-maybe run from Memphis to Evansville and then north to Indianapolis.
This rather madcap “improvement” has been over twenty years in the planning, and now, just when it’s finally got the muscle to actually start, gas prices and infrastructure costs are finally coming home to roost. My guess: It’ll get stalled indefinitely all over again.
Good, say I. And I say this knowing full well that it will take me longer to get to Indy or Memphis without it. I have friends in Muncie; it would be convenient to shave an hour off the trip.
But convenience isn’t everything, and neither is speed (although FedEx would surely have us believe otherwise).
Why is it inherently better that I be able to drive to Indianapolis in two-and-a-half hours instead of three-and-a-half?
Answer: It isn’t. It’s faster, yes. But is it better? How does our quality of life actually improve overall if we get everyplace faster???
I use the interstates. I like speed. But we can’t even fix what we’ve got. Witness the nearby New Harmony bridge, currently closed, a supposedly vital connection over the Wabash to Illinois that nobody will take responsibility for funding and re-opening.
I feel like Murray, the sensible small-town economist from the gentle film fantasy Dave, who takes a long look at the federal budget and throws up his hands in dismay.
Luckily, my kids have a bunch of toys that are basically indestructible. Wooden blocks, for example. Little cars. Rubber dinosaurs. Outdoor playgrounds, both constructed and otherwise. Their current favorite playground: Any given fallen log on which they can balance. No maintenance required, there. No fixing, not maybe, not eventually, not ever.
Tax gasoline more? By all means. I’m sure I’ll drive less––in fact, I already do. But while we’re busy foaming at the mouth about taxation, let’s refocus our efforts and move past our ideals of infinite infrastructure. Let’s try building less! And then let’s try liking the results.
Agree? Disagree? Come chat. You’ll find me in the forest, balancing on a log.
Try it. It’s tax-free.
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
