Roads? Where we're going, we don't need ... roads!

Building onto the Eminent Domain theme has me thinking about roads. I am frequently asked how we will have roads if there is no government road program or fuel taxes. I think that all roads should be privatized. Everyone would own the road that runs through their property. Or if it runs along a boundary, they would own half of the road there. Now, If I owned half of the road in front of my property, would I want the bother of maintaining it, and the liability if someone was driving on it and was in an accident? No I wouldn't. Would I close off the road to travelers? I wouldn't, but I am sure some folks would. Would there be any profit in keeping the road open? Yes. No one, including me, wants a stupid toll-booth every hundred feet or so. So what would happen? I think that the market would soon find a workable solution. My hunch is that companies would form which would buy or lease roads from land-owners, taking on all costs and liabilities, but also most of the profits. These companies (not "corporations", which are a government creation)would probably sell a form of travel insurance or something of the sort that would permit travel upon their roadways and also guarantee against road hazards, and maybe even mechanical problems. They could also sell business locations along the shoulders. If you think this sounds unreasonable, go back to the title of this post. What would stop inventers from creating vehicles that don't use roads? The biggest stumbling block along this line has been (for over 50 years) the government regulations which cripple innovation. Does the FAA sound familiar? So you will have a choice: use the roads and pay a fee which would undoubtedly be less than the fuel taxes you pay now, or leave the surface entirely.

Eminent Domain

This is just a fancy way of describing theft by government. I realize this is a long-established practice, but it is still wrong. If you or I desperately want a certain piece of property, we must come up with the owner's asking price or find another piece of land. Disappointment stinks, but that is reality. Government should not own land, much less steal it. There is no such thing as "the common good" so using that excuse for theft is empty.