{"id":11197,"date":"2015-05-27T07:35:33","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T14:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bradblog.com\/?p=11197"},"modified":"2015-05-28T11:26:20","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T18:26:20","slug":"roads-to-nowhere-do-voters-really-want-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/?p=11197","title":{"rendered":"Roads to Nowhere: Do Voters Really Want More?"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Beltway to Bertha<\/a>, it’s taken for granted that American voters want to spend more not just to repair but to “improve” roads and bridges, meaning expensive new and expanded highways. It’s assumed their only objection is that they don’t want to have to pay higher gas taxes. There’s only one problem: Like the mythical American love affair with cars<\/a>, there’s little evidence of an American craving for new highways.<\/p>\n

Following in the footsteps of Massachusetts voters last fall<\/a>, Michigan voters recently rejected a gas tax increase<\/a>. This reaction from Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI), who pushed the tax hike referendum, caught my eye:<\/p>\n

“While voters didn’t support this particular proposal, we know they want action taken to maintain and improve our roads and bridges,” Snyder said.<\/p>\n

We hear that spoken as fact from politicians and political commentators all the time, but how do we know that? Is that really true? And what if it’s not?…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Raising the gas tax is a very good idea, yet it’s also extremely unpopular<\/a>. This is always interpreted as anti-tax fervor, or that there’s something unique about the gas tax that voters don’t want that<\/i> raised but they’d be more tolerant of some other<\/i> tax hike to fund roads, because voters are dumb, I guess? The result is commentators and Democrats (who understandably want the local, union jobs that road-building bring) begging Republicans to support some, any way to dramatically expand highway construction.<\/p>\n

Most polling isn’t helpful in that it just asks if voters want to raise the gas tax to fund transportation projects, but doesn’t ask whether funding more transportation projects is itself a worthy goal.<\/p>\n

Here’s what some polling can tell us:<\/p>\n