Improved roads will require more taxes

We can sympathize with Missouri Department of Transportation Director Pete Rahn. The transportation guru told Missouri legislators this week that his department is more accountable, the state's roads are better and annual roadway deaths are lower than they have been in a decade. And by the way, the public wants nearly $20 billion more in roadway improvements than funds are available.

So what's a guy to do? Transportation officials here and elsewhere have always and will always face the same struggle - how do you find the funding to address all of the identified needs within a state? And the answer is clear - you will not and you cannot ever find all of the funds required to address all of the needs identified. And you can take that to the bank!

It's up to Missourians to address this issue and not throw the problem in the face of the Missouri General Assembly each and every year. The bottom line is pretty simple - if we want road improvements regardless of the location, we Missourians are going to have to decide how to pay for those projects. And if we don't want to dip into our pockets to pay for these improvements, then we've got to make the best of a bad situation. Not a whole lot of wiggle room!

Rahn identified a handful of projects that he urged lawmakers to address with funding this session. It's doubtful the money can be found quite frankly, though we never underestimate the creativity of the Missouri legislature. Rahn wants lawmakers to find money for expanding Interstates 70 and 44, repair aging bridges and increase Amtrak ridership. I didn't hear him talk much about rural roads but it's always the squeaky wheel that gets the grease and I-70 is squeaking more than most.

Like others, we could nit-pick the Transportation Department until we're blue in the face. We can question why they have massive fleets of vehicles that seem excessive to the casual observer. We can question why it seems to take six men to do the job of two. We can offer a whole host of questions. But that's not the point.

The point is this and this alone. If we taxpayers of Missouri want better roads, we'll someday have to accept the fact that we're going to have to pay for those improvements. And so the question becomes really simple. Are you willing to fork over more taxes to pay for improvements? I suspect - like most everyone else - we'd be willing to pay for the improvements on those roadways we travel and less likely to give our taxes to pay for improvements that have no personal benefit.

If that seems self-serving, welcome to the world!