Why roads should be free — And a chance to win $75

For all of you who have rolled your eyes when I've said that roads should be privatized, consider this:

Have you ever been pulled over for speeding?  When the guy with a gun fined you a hundred bucks for going too fast, did it ever seem odd?  What if Costco started tazing, fining, and imprisoning people who drove their shopping carts too fast down the aisles?  Wouldn't you think it odd if a Costco teller pulled a gun on you, and told you to get your ni**er a** down on the floor, if you, say, were paralyzed, or black?

72-year-old woman tased.
Respect the elderly, or respect my authoritah?

Why don't we think it odd when it happens on our roads?  Americans are apt to forget that highways were built to prevent popular uprisings.  That speed limits were put in place to force gas rationing.  And public schools never teach that roads are monopolies.

Recently, an Eastern European mayor has used a tank to run over the vehicles of his own constituents, and people are cheering the guy on like he's some sort of folk hero.  One website called him the honeybadger of mayors.

Doubtless, our envy-driven hatred of the rich causes our hearts to flutter when we hear that he has demolished luxury cars parked in bike lanes.  What greater analogy could there be for the rich/poor divide than a Mercedes-Benz parked in the lane of a humble bicyclist?

Tank Mayor don't care
(edited by Double Birds)

It might be heroic, if roads were designed in a way that allowed ample room for both parking and biking.  Anyone who has spent a half-an-hour or more searching for a parking space should have some empathy.  But, unfortunately, bike lanes are located at precisely the place most people park and/or drive.

The mayor is also made less heroic by his arbitrary enforcement of the law.  If the owner of the vehicle had known beforehand the consequence of parking there, he would likely not have parked there.  When the mayor decided to change parking laws on a whim, he violated the rule of law, because the tank-smash law was not set forth before the Mercedes owner parked.  The rule of law will likely be further violated, because the mayor will escape liability for the damage he caused.  Many public officials do not have to obey the laws they write for us.

On the poor bicyclist side of the spectrum, arbitrary infliction of justice is also apparent. Police fine bicyclists for speeding, and not using bike lanes properly.  This NY bicyclist made a video of his harassment that became an internet sensation.

Why is it acceptable for elected officials to destroy the property of voters?  Why are roads designed so poorly that bike lanes are located next to car lanes?  Why are we fined for driving fast, even if we drive safely, and with the flow of traffic?  Monopoly (not the game) takes away our choice.

If you have a really great idea for a road design, you can't change it.  You have to beg your rulers to do something about it.

Like this grocery store (Gekås Ullared) in Sweden.  Gekås is located in a small town, pop. 9,000.  But it serves up to 28,000 people a day, because of travelers.  Because the town is small, its roads are small.  The centralized road authority hasn't improved the town's roads for 15 years.  Gekås offered a $16,000,000 loan (100,000,000 krona) to the centralized road authority for road repairs.  So far all Gekås has received is the middle finger.

Drivers in Utah are also being harassed more.  The next time your gas runs out, it could cost you $97 bucks.  That's right, the government is going to punish you for being poor.  And it can, because it has a monopoly over roads.  You can't use a road owned by someone who is not a doosh.

But what if you could?

If you have a road idea that is really good, you could win $75 worth of luxury artisan chocolate.  Click here for details.

Further Reading:
Road Socialism and The Privatization of Roads and Highways by Walter Block