Reference no: EM131328544

DISCUSSION Forum

Note: The video has Closed Captioning. To activate it, start the video, mouse over the bottom of the video and click on the CC icon, then select from the menu.

We are going to examine substitute goods, highways and a bit about how we pay for highways.

Highway construction and maintenance are funded mainly by motor fuel taxes (the gasoline tax). There is a federal gasoline tax (an excise tax) which is 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel. Then there are state taxes per gallon and, in some states, a sales tax as well as a gallonage tax. For an overview of state motor fuel taxes go to the American Petroleum Institute's Motor Fuel Taxes page. Since only those who have vehicles pay the motor fuel tax, it is also called a User Fee.

The federal motor fuels tax goes into the Federal Highway Trust Fund (it also funds public transit) which is a major source of highway funding nationally. However, as vehicles use less fuel because of higher mileage, the Trust Fund balance decreases. In fact is has been decreasing so rapidly, that there is a serious funding shortage given the needs for new highway construction and the need for highway maintenance.

The state highway trust funds are experiencing the same problem of declining revenues. Thus, states are looking for other ways to fund new highways.

Which brings us to this week's discussion topic: Toll Roads.

Assignment Summary:

1) Watch the video above and read "In the News: The Case for Toll Roads" from Chapter 11 (pages 224-225) Week 3.pdf.

2) Also review the information on motor fuel taxes and the balance in the Federal Trust Fund using the links above. You may wish to do a search for your state's highway trust fund balance and motor fuel taxes.

3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of toll roads for driver? Why might an individual prefer to pay a toll than to use a free road?

4) Are there other ways to pay for highways other than tolls or higher motor fuel taxes? (Oregon is researching an alternative user fee system, you may wish to search for that information.)

5) Are there environmental aspects to the use of toll roads versus free roads?

6) Post your views to the discussion board and refer to at least two different concepts from this week's Chapters. Your illustration of concepts MUST include an explanation why you think they are relevant to the week's topic using specific information from the articles, videos and other research that you have done.

MAKE SURE THAT YOU ADD SOMETHING NEW to the discussion.

7) Post on three different days for a minimum of three posts. Failure to meet these minimum posting requirements results in point loss.

• Include a word count on each post. All of your posts should sum to a minimum of 500 words.
• Each post submitted should be between 150 and 250 words. Keep them short, specific, and clear.
• Use paragraphs as appropriate.
• Very lengthy posts do not provide an incentive to be read.
• Remember to document all use of sources by using citations and references.These should be in APA format.
• Please review Plagiarism Powerpoints PLAGIARISM.ppt,and be sure to provide references and citations, including clickable URLs where appropriate, to all works that you cite APA.pptx.

Now click on the Discussion Forum text at the top of the page to be taken to the discussion board. You can start a new thread by clicking on the Create Thread button at the top. You can also respond to an existing post by clicking the Respond button at the bottom of the post.

PEER RESPONSES

Stephanie Grullon Gonzalez

Discussion

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The Case for Toll roads as the name explains it talked about the pros and cons of having tolls, that in my personal opinion sometimes they have more cons than pros, because I think that sometimes the government takes advantage of the situation and works it out to their convenience, for example, here in Florida specially in Miami, in the express ways for some reason there are always workers around working on a particular project which affects the express way and makes them close it and this makes the traffic more abundant and more stressfull for people, on the other hand since traffic gets so congested the price of the tolls goes up and that when they open the express lanes back again which hurts everybodys pockets, that is one of the main reasons why I believe that even though having tolls helps to have the roads less congested during peak hours and might be convenient for everybody it should not be a reason to be overcharged, there should be a set amount for all tolls at all times.

References

Morris. E. A (2009) The Case For Toll Roads. In the News.

Juleisha Reyes Troncoso

Discussion

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We can all come to an agreement that traffic is frustrating, time consuming, and an overallstressor in our daily lives. By adding toll roads, many have the choice to pay to avoid congestion on the roads, and have a more direct route. As Stossel stated in the video, "time is money" for some individuals (StosselClassroom). Toll roads help save time for those who don't have time to waste. For those who are not in a rush might prefer taking the scenic route. Taking the free road takes longer to reach ones' destination, but no money is being spent in the process. Another disadvantage of toll roads would be how the government makes one pay to use these roads. We already pay tax dollars for these roads, so why do we have to pay more for something that should be funded to begin with. It is an ongoing debate today. Overall, toll roads have its advantages and disadvantages. Toll roads in my opinion do help, but just need some more efficient ways to run. At the moment it is "a game that nobody can win" (The Case for Toll Roads para.12).

Word Count:187

References

Mankiw, N. Gregory. "The Case for Toll Roads." Principles of Economics. Seventh ed. N.p.:Cengage Learning, 2015. 224-25. Print.

StosselClassroom. "Private Roads -- Stossel in the Classroom." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Jan. 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5DCmDXJun4>.