Reply #6: Wow, this is pretty wide spread...foreign ownership of our roads

[madfloridian]

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."