Post by Rob Sandwell on Oct 20, 2008 0:57:21 GMT -5
Here is an excerpt from a thread I contributed to debating the feasability of the private ownership of roads. You can find the thread here, freedomainradio.com/board/forums/p/16572/140982.aspx#140982. The question that was asked was how society could operate if all the roads were privately owned.
I think one possible solution would be for many roads to be toll roads, and I don't think that this is such a ridiculous scenario. Remember, right now, all roads are toll roads, most are just payed for off site through taxation. The illusion that they are free to the public is created by seperating cost from delivery, but you are still paying to drive on the roads under the current system.
Under an anarcho-capitalist system, some roads would be payed for locally by businesses who have a vested interest in increasing traffic to their stores. Roads in commercial districts would then probably be payed for jointly by the businesses in those areas who would share the cost and then pass it along to their customers in the form of price increases. This is happening already, as whatever taxation businesses incur is always passed on to customers.
In purely residential areas homeowners would probably share the cost of the roads and would pay some fee to have companies maintain and improve those roads on a regular basis. Some of these costs would be offset by charging tolls for people moving through the area who did not live there and used to contribute to the maintenance of the roads. The rest of the cost would be shared by people living in the area, and while any homeowner would certainly have the right not to help pay for the roads, he would then be charged a toll at the higher non-resident rate.
Other roads would probably be wholly owned by private concerns who would set and collect fees for their use. They would of course maintain and improve their roads on a regular basis, or else their customers may choose to take an alternate path to their destination, in effect selecting their competitors roads over their own.
The thing to remember when discussing the issue of roads is that you must already pay for their use, and that the cost of using a road to any one customer is very small. Frequent users of certain roads would probably receive some type of discount. Those who used them for commercial purposes, such as pizza guys and couriers, would probably pass on their cost to the customer, or contract with the owner of the road for passage for all agents of their company over a certain amount of time for a set price. There are many different possibilities, and more than likely, there would be many different practices.
As for the collection of tolls, that would seem relatively simple. Private roads would be monitored by the owner, he would confirm the identity of the people using his roads, contact them, and arrange payment. Most people would probably pay a user fee per a set distance electronically via debit card or EFT. Others might arrange for bulk purchase of rights of passage, and there would probably be some allowance for delayed payment within a reasonable time. Anyone who failed to pay for the use would be subject to higher rates in the future, possible litigation, and possibly denial of service.
I can't emphasize enough, you are already paying for the roads. The idea that they would all be toll roads offends so many because they think the roads are free. They are not. They are owned. They are maintained. This would be no different. The difference is that you would only pay for what you use, voluntarily, instead of having private assets seized by force from you pre-emptively for something you may or may not ever use.
-Rob
I think one possible solution would be for many roads to be toll roads, and I don't think that this is such a ridiculous scenario. Remember, right now, all roads are toll roads, most are just payed for off site through taxation. The illusion that they are free to the public is created by seperating cost from delivery, but you are still paying to drive on the roads under the current system.
Under an anarcho-capitalist system, some roads would be payed for locally by businesses who have a vested interest in increasing traffic to their stores. Roads in commercial districts would then probably be payed for jointly by the businesses in those areas who would share the cost and then pass it along to their customers in the form of price increases. This is happening already, as whatever taxation businesses incur is always passed on to customers.
In purely residential areas homeowners would probably share the cost of the roads and would pay some fee to have companies maintain and improve those roads on a regular basis. Some of these costs would be offset by charging tolls for people moving through the area who did not live there and used to contribute to the maintenance of the roads. The rest of the cost would be shared by people living in the area, and while any homeowner would certainly have the right not to help pay for the roads, he would then be charged a toll at the higher non-resident rate.
Other roads would probably be wholly owned by private concerns who would set and collect fees for their use. They would of course maintain and improve their roads on a regular basis, or else their customers may choose to take an alternate path to their destination, in effect selecting their competitors roads over their own.
The thing to remember when discussing the issue of roads is that you must already pay for their use, and that the cost of using a road to any one customer is very small. Frequent users of certain roads would probably receive some type of discount. Those who used them for commercial purposes, such as pizza guys and couriers, would probably pass on their cost to the customer, or contract with the owner of the road for passage for all agents of their company over a certain amount of time for a set price. There are many different possibilities, and more than likely, there would be many different practices.
As for the collection of tolls, that would seem relatively simple. Private roads would be monitored by the owner, he would confirm the identity of the people using his roads, contact them, and arrange payment. Most people would probably pay a user fee per a set distance electronically via debit card or EFT. Others might arrange for bulk purchase of rights of passage, and there would probably be some allowance for delayed payment within a reasonable time. Anyone who failed to pay for the use would be subject to higher rates in the future, possible litigation, and possibly denial of service.
I can't emphasize enough, you are already paying for the roads. The idea that they would all be toll roads offends so many because they think the roads are free. They are not. They are owned. They are maintained. This would be no different. The difference is that you would only pay for what you use, voluntarily, instead of having private assets seized by force from you pre-emptively for something you may or may not ever use.
-Rob