Florida may lease toll roads, bridges to private investors.

Toll road rates are expected to rise as are the costs for bridges. Thus the private companies will make profits on the backs of the people who will pay the cost for maintenance. The price of all the tax-cutting here. Don't get me started on how they plan to pay for fire and police services....people are starting to wonder.

Florida considers leasing toll roads, bridges to private investors

The Sunshine State Skyway Bridge is one being considered for this experiment.





Governor Crist say Florida won't do it unless it is good for Florida. Since it is passing the costs to those who ride the toll roads and bridges, it should be very good for the companies and for the state.



I am wondering how much oversight the state would give this "private investors" to make sure they are doing the proper upkeep and maintenance.

All the cuts they are speaking of making in real-estate taxes will mean nothing to people like us....and the insurance hikes will eat any good stuff up for average people.

The people who will be hurt by the rising costs of traveling on the roads and bridges are...again...the average consumer.

Amazing how they do that.

Here is something about Alligator Alley and the dangers of privatizing.

Private Alligator Alley would be paved with fool's gold

Don't even think about it.

Maybe we could privatize the Governors office. You know, someone with a H1B Visa, with a brain. He'll work a lot cheaper, and probably make better decisions.

While we're at it let's privatize the whole legislature. Wait, I think they already have.

and promised there would be no tolls once it was paid off. Ha!

then the states are locked into the contract. I don't like this.

http://businessshrink.biz/psychologyofbusiness/2007/11/14/foreign-companies-aquiring-us-highways/

"Now on the horizon is a battle that could give America’s transportation system to the highest bidder. What once were public and government owned freeways and toll roads are now becoming privately owned cash cows for foreign companies.

Politicians repeatedly find it easier to get into office promising to cut taxes and not to raise taxes on a number of items and keeping gas taxes in check. In addition to these taxes most politicians are not comfortable with approving toll price increases to cover the dwindling funds that are needed to maintain America’s transportation system. This leaves options for funding America’s highways bleak and a new creative way is becoming commonplace throughout the entire country."

.."In an increasing number of these cases, this ends up giving ownership of these transportation systems to foreign companies that don’t exactly have American citizen’s interests on their mind. Just recently in June of 2006 an Australian-Spanish conglomerate paid $3.8 billion to lease the Indiana Toll Road. The immediate results were double increases on the toll rates of the Indiana Toll Road. Now that Indiana has locked themselves into the deal they face strict rules that do not allow them to redo the contract unless they want to pay steep penalties and pay the new owner for lost profits. The private companies are strictly there for a profit and are not worried about transportation solutions, ease of use and traffic congestion. If the profit is not being produced from the roads they will hike up costs until they start to see a return. In a free-market system competition would keep toll roads from getting to ridiculous prices, but most PPP agreements have non-compete clauses in their fine print which keep states and other private entities from competing within as much as 10 miles on either side of the owned transportation system."

And yet we pay through the nose for everything, including driving on our own taxpayer funded roads. Nice, eh?

/ Australian company for $3.85 billion. Selling the USA to the highest bidder is without any doubt on the republican agenda.

What about the common good?

good roads and bridges should belong to the average American. No one should make a profit off of what belongs to the people. Period.

Thus I won't be traveling that far into the state, on expensive toll roads that probably won't be maintained well.

Gotta love privatization. Why is it that we have this big rush to put the profit motive behind everything from water to schools to roads. It is shredding our country and will lead to our downfall.

...the CONservative agenda. Destroy government and privatize everything. They will not be satisfied until they own everything and everyone on the planet.

I believe it is time to end the entire notion of money. Nothing else will stop them.

If you're a foreign investor, any piece of America you want can be yours, no questions asked.

Except we don't lease it.
We let the 'investors' own it outright.
Two sons of former (idiot) governor Fob James built and owned toll bridge.

Of course the 20 mile super-highway (Foley-Beach Expressway) had to be built by federal, state, and local governments (your tax dollars at work for private interests) to get from existing highways TO the damned bridge.

But then they sold it to an Australian investment outfit (at a huge profit) who repackaged and resold it as a limited partnership (at a huge profit) who in turn doubled the tolls.

But hey, they arrested 3 guys in the Natalie Holloway case.
:grr:

... we too have been privatized up the wazoo. :(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2352947&mesg_id=2353302

".."In an increasing number of these cases, this ends up giving ownership of these transportation systems to foreign companies that don’t exactly have American citizen’s interests on their mind. Just recently in June of 2006 an Australian-Spanish conglomerate paid $3.8 billion to lease the Indiana Toll Road. The immediate results were double increases on the toll rates of the Indiana Toll Road. Now that Indiana has locked themselves into the deal they face strict rules that do not allow them to redo the contract unless they want to pay steep penalties and pay the new owner for lost profits. The private companies are strictly there for a profit and are not worried about transportation solutions, ease of use and traffic congestion. If the profit is not being produced from the roads they will hike up costs until they start to see a return. In a free-market system competition would keep toll roads from getting to ridiculous prices, but most PPP agreements have non-compete clauses in their fine print which keep states and other private entities from competing within as much as 10 miles on either side of the owned transportation system."

Now the state is locked into the deal, good or bad.

Lease out everything to private business!

The Republican dream come true, coming to a state near you!


Neo-Nut BushCo Dream World....

I'm loving it, just sell this fucking country out to the Chinese or just the highest bidder.

Hasn't everyone been hearing that toilet flushing for the last 2o years........that is America going down the drain.

:rant:

preventing the sale of federally funded public highways and infrastructure to private entities. A great rationale would be to protect national security.

Seems like a good idea, no?

They're beneficiaries, not investors... They reap reward

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editafleasessbnov27,0,3988952.story

"Now a state Department of Transportation study estimates that leases on certain properties, like the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, could fetch $1.3 billion over 50 years. Tempting numbers, but the concessions affixed to those leases ought to concern Floridians.

For starters, no one gives you money for nothing. The private companies that would lease the roads and bridges would have the ability to jack up tolls and fees. That's how they would recover their investment and earn their profit.

Much higher tolls are no small consideration. Florida depends on cheap transportation costs, for both tourism and to keep the cost of goods down.

It's also troubling that we could be signing away major transportation road networks for decades. Just think how much the state has changed in the past 25 years. What changes lie ahead in the next quarter century? We may well regret leases of 50 years or more very quickly."

And the editorial adds a sensible question:

"There's no question the state's transportation budget needs other revenue streams to keep pace with growth and progress. But if government is willing to let a private company increase tolls, or place new booths on certain highways, then why doesn't government do it itself?"

has allways cost the most. People a toll on a bridge are a road is still a tax.

More from the blog of Ybor City Stogie

Geez, I am having a hard time with this, though Stogie says Florida will retain ownership. Maybe I am not forward thinking enough to want Spain or any other country taking contracts for our roads and bridges.

Sounds like a done deal, all over but the shouting.



There is more at this link:

Spanish Company Introduces New Road Construction Approach to Florida



Sounds like they get involved in development and growth as well. It makes me uneasy.