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Transport Subsidies Lead to Bad Decisions

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Blue StreakEntrance fees do not cover the full cost of running the National Park Service.  It gets an infusion of general funds.  It should.  It is not a commercial enterprise, and I don't think that it should be, although one could make an argument for privatizing it.  My concern is masking the true cost of commercial activities with subsidies and, therefore, distorting the price, which frequently leads to sub-optimum behavior as per my post.   If you are a middle class person who pays federal income taxes, owns a home and thus pays property taxes and owns a car, or at least drives one; you are paying the full or nearly full cost of driving.  If you don't pay federal income tax, or pay a very low rate, then your driving is subsidized by more affluent motorists.  If the powers that be rolled the federal subsidies, cost of county roads, cost of city streets, etc. into the price of gasoline, as opposed to hiding them in transfers and other taxes, the price of gasoline would reflect its true cost.  But governments would be able low their tax rates, i.e. a very small lowering of federal and state income taxes, a more substantial reduction of county and city property and sales taxes, that would offset the increase in the price of gasoline.If the price of transport reflects the true cost of each transport mode, users are likely to make better decisions about which one to use.  A likely outcome would be increased of rail use in short corridors with a corresponding decrease in driving and flying.Higher fuel prices would result in some poorer citizens being unable to drive to tourist attractions, including the national parks.  If society agrees that everyone should be able to travel to these sites, less affluent persons could be given a tax credit so that they could get to them.Heaps of people would oppose changing the current system of subsidizing transport.  The only way that it could be changed is through a process similar to the recent military base closings.  A commision would have to be formed and the process would have to be taken out of the political sphere.  What is the chance of it happening?  Not very good!  But that does not mean that it shouldn't.
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