Tax Subsidy Distortion

The US needs to stop subsidies that now violate the laws of economics.

The actual cost of air travel is distorted by cities owning airports and the federal government providing TSA security. Airlines should own the airports and should pay all the costs associated with operating these airports. The cost of air travel might rise temporarily, but as a private sector entity, these costs will be reduced. Now we have Congress passing a bill to subsidize airports with backup generators “to prevent future airport blackouts” AJC, 5/4/18.

Tax subsidies for public transit should be ended and all public transit should be privatized. Our public transit agencies have union government employees who can go on strike and this makes no sense. The cost of transit might rise temporarily, but as a private sector entity, these costs will be reduced.

Train operators should own their own train tracks, terminals and bridges and should pay to have these maintained and replaced as needed.

Ball teams should own their stadiums and pay all expenses for maintaining and replacing these stadiums. The cost of attending these sporting events has risen beyond being affordable despite the revenue these teams receive for televising their events. Local taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize sporting events for rich people. The economic benefits of tourism are overstated.

Cities and counties should pay to restore their own infrastructure without subsidies from State and federal tax dollars. In the 1920s, the US federal government bailed out the cities and paid for the construction of sewer systems and water treatment to reduce illness from drinking polluted water. Now this infrastructure needs to be replaced and it should be done by the cities and counties without subsidies. They need to pull back on all other city and county expenses to accomplish this and they should be forced to do this by the voters.

In the 1950s, the federal government funded the construction of the interstate highway system. This system also needs to be maintained and expanded as needed to support interstate commerce by truck. The responsibility for funding this could revert to the States.  If not, Congress will need to increase the federal gasoline tax to cover the costs. The use of tolls for lanes and entire highways is not a good solution, because drivers will not use toll lanes and will find alternate routes around tolled highways.

Education and healthcare are over-subsidized by State and federal tax dollars and the costs are unsustainable. These two industries have become the poster children of tax subsidy madness.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader