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Fuel, excise and sales taxes don't come close to covering the cost of car infrastructure, not to mention the environmental externalities generated.

• zaroth 7y ago
  In 2016, state and local governments spent $175 billion on highways and roads [1]. Fuel taxes, sales taxes, and usage fees (tolls) generate roughly $150 billion per year. Excise taxes do not even have a good national accounting system and I can’t find a US total number. But, for example, just CA generates roughly $10 billion in revenue from these fees. Far from not covering the costs, the direct taxes and fees on cars are actually generating a profit. If you want to talk about externalities you have to account for both positive and negative externalities. [1] - https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/highway-and-road-expenditures https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiative...
  • PeterStuer 7y ago
    So, you are saying that even if you do not price in any of the huge negative externalities [1], cars barely cover even just the highway and road direct budgetary impact? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externalities_of_automobiles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externalities_of_automobiles Extremely conservative list on Wikipedia. Anyone that e.g. has looked at real-estate pricing before and after a street was made car free and has seen valuations go up by x2-x5 can attest even just the impact on direct livability.
  • megablast 7y ago
    Roads are just one part of costs of cars.
  • Sharlin 7y ago
    What, exactly, are the positive externalities of cars?