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According to the polls, the main thing people want from our legislature session is an improved economy. But the major item on the legislative agenda is better transportation. For the past two sessions, the governor has pushed for new and improved highways, and gotten nowhere. This time around, he's got a bipartisan group in charge of the preaching.
On the surface, it looks as though more highways would also improve the state's economy. Businesses always say they need better roads. Especially truckers, who cause 32 percent of the damage to our highways, and pay only 21 percent of the cost.
(Naturally, there are legislators who propose to reduce
truck taxes even further, in order to stimulate
business.
Why is it that when a corporation freeloads
from the public treasury, it is known as improving the
economy,
but when an individual does the same thing, it
is known as embezzlement
or welfare
fraud
?)
So there is a theory that the legislature could kill two birds with one stone if it passed the Surface Transportation Act of 1989.
But it would take $167 million from our pockets. And no one has demonstrated that the state economy would indeed benefit by that much. The facts point in a different direction.
Building more roads means people drive more. The more that people drive in the metro area, the more air pollution. Not only does bad air cause disease and shorten lives, but the Brown Cloud puts the most populated part of the state under EPA sanctions, which means a loss of federal grants. That certainly can't be good for the economy.
The other things that happen to the economy from increased driving aren't good, either. Every time you start your car, you're exporting money from Colorado.
How? The most recent figures at hand are from 1985.
(They come from the 1988 Statistical Abstract of the
United States, whose 1989 edition, which will have 1986
statistics, won't appear until March or April. Isn't the
information age marvelous, with all this current
data right at your fingertips?)
In 1985, Colorado produced 29 million barrels of oil. But Colorado transportation consumed 51 million barrels. So Colorado imported 22 million barrels from other states or nations. With oil going for about $12.50 a barrel, that's $275 million a year -- $750,000 every day -- leaving the state.
Buying a new car is an even better way to export capital. As nearly as I can figure, Coloradans bought about 231,000 new cars, at an average cost of $10,000. Some of that -- we'll say $2,500 -- stays in the state, for the dealer, his landlord, banker and employees. So new car purchases sent $1.73 billion out of Colorado in one year.
Just those two items account for $2 billion a year leaving Colorado. This money won't be invested in Colorado. No wonder the state's economy is in such sorry shape. We're squandering our capital.
Driving also increases our taxes in subtle ways. Last year was the safest since 1962 -- only 494 people got themselves killed on our highways.
The average victim was 29 years old, with 36 productive years ahead of him. Each of those years, he would have paid about $1,500 in state taxes, so each highway death is a loss of $54,000 to the state treasury. In the safe year of 1988, the state lost $26 million in present and future tax revenue. In a more typical year, like 1986 with its 602 fatalities, the cost came to $33 million that has to be made up by the rest of us.
The more roads we build, the more we drive. The more we drive, the more money we lose through capital exports and the shortening of productive lives. The Colorado economy continues to decline, and then somebody comes up with the bright idea of improving things by building roads.
Our legislature won't do anything to improve transportation anyway, since its Republicans would rather see us choking in pothole gridlock than let the Democratic governor get any sort of political credit.
So here's a suggestion for Chris Paulson and Ted Strickland -- do nothing, and use the above numbers to point out how much you're helping the Colorado economy by doing nothing.
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