When I first heard this on Rush’s show while driving around Raleigh looking for lighbulbs yesterday (you wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find a certain type), I though it was a joke:
New Jersey, the state with the most highways per square mile, may sell the best-known of them all — the 148-mile New Jersey Turnpike.
Acting Governor Richard Codey last month ordered a study on how to replenish the cash-strapped Transportation Trust Fund, the state’s biggest source of highway construction and mass transit financing. One option is selling the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, owner of the turnpike and Garden State Parkway.
The other option is leasing it, as Chicago did. Why do it?
New Jersey faced a $4 billion budget deficit at the time, and selling the roads would have raised cash to balance the budget. Lawmakers cut tax rebates instead. The state now must find at least $800 million in annual revenue by July 1 to pay for transportation projects.
Typical New Jersey. Screw with the taxes, rather then cut spending. Here’s a good question: can the State legally sell something which is owned by the taxpayers like this? We aren’t talking about some old, used property or military surplus. Second question: how much graft would be involved? Third question: how much would the new owners charge people to use the Turnpike?
Of course, on the flip side, allowing private industry to run the Turnpike would probably decrease the cost that people would pay to use it, since it would certainly be run more efficiently then the State was running it.
Overall, any sort of in depth analysis would be mere speculation at this point. It just boggles the mind that they would consider selling one of the two most important roads in the State, which serves an enormous amount of people. Jeff Edelstein, of the Trentonian, says it best:
As you are probably aware, the great state of New Jersey is contemplating selling the New Jersey Turnpike in an effort to raise money for the Transportation Trust Fund.
This is a bad idea, both economically — you don’t sell your assets, you moron political hacks — and artistically.
Looking for lightbulbs in Raleigh? I think most of what you will find there will rather dim…
But I’d support selling the turnpike because it’s an “Authority.” Authorities in government are absolutely horrible. They are supposed to be “independent” — and this means that they are unaccountable and can literally do anything they want without repercussion. You can’t vote them out, they just stay forever and spend money without any responsibility.
re. Corruption
Hey, we’re talking NEW JERSEY!
1- the corruption of putting the turnpike into private hands would probably match the corruption of having it in the Authorities hands
2- corruption in NJ is like entropy–it is ALWAYS increasing and never decreasing. Don’t believe it? Look at our Attorney General.
3- just taking away the road would not guarantee they will get rid of the payroll. Trust me, there are too many D votes for that to happen.