Arkansas Blog: Easy money not so easy

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Easy money not so easy

The bond lawyers and bond daddies worked on Jim Guy Tucker and then they worked on Mike Huckabee and voters finally went along with the bond daddy enrichment scheme to borrow against future federal highway money to get money up front for road repairs. It was a shell game. The interest on the bonds is enormous. At the end of time, in the final reckoning, we will build fewer roads with the bonds, but build more up front. If it's any consolation, Arkansas isn't the only state wondering where the dollars are going to come from on those bonds now that federal highway dollars have dried up.

Posted by Max Brantley on September 11, 2008 04:27 PM | Permalink

Comments

Could the plot be to try to keep the value of Hummers/SUV's up by removing infrastructure that more fuel-efficent motor vehicles can traverse?

Oh, well we can always buy a cheap horse, of course we have to move out of city limits to keep it!

Posted by: docholliday | September 11, 2008 04:42 PM

I thought that one of the terms of the bond proposal was that it had to be paid out of federal highway dollars, and that its the bondholders, not taxpayers, who are stuck if the federal money dries up. Am I wrong?

Posted by: jmw | September 11, 2008 05:08 PM

So in retrospect, a gas tax holiday was probably not going to be a good idea.

Posted by: Citizen home | September 11, 2008 05:59 PM

That's where we differ greatly from Texas.

In Texas the road projects start each January and end when the money is gone. They just put up a couple of saw horses and a road closed sign.

Posted by: Goof | September 11, 2008 08:14 PM

I bet you college educated people will run this country into hell.
I never saw any society so damn stupid and ignorant as these well educated pricks are doing since the last sixties.
Higher education is not higher education.

Posted by: chasv | September 11, 2008 09:59 PM

Hey, chasv. By your reckoning we should lobotomize every elected official at their swearing in if we really want to make this country work. By the way, how is yours working out for you?

They need to mandate a percentage to go to public transportation. Imagine how the economy would grow if everyone had the choice of owning a car or not. No gas to buy, no car payments to make, no repairs or maintenance, no car insurance--hell, I could afford to buy lipstick for my pig!
Maybe even chasv's pig!

Posted by: GUMM | September 11, 2008 11:49 PM

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