Dear Matt, You are right in interpreting some of these questions in economic terms. But once again any analysis must have consistency. Your contention is that markets are not promoting gasoline alternatives because the demand for gasoline is "inelastic." But didn't people buy and demand the hybrid gas/electric cars and briefly reject SUVs as prices increased? They would switch to hydrogen if that alternative were competitive. But gas prices are not high because of manipulation, but rather a fixed and vulnerable supply due to government regulations of new capacity and distributions. As for hydrogen--won't that be distributed by the same oil companies and so if there are profit spikes due to limited gasoline supply; wouldn't those companies be best off using that money for development of the most promising alternative to gasoline? There is no incentive for universities to explore gasoline alternatives. The only incentive for research there is a good life and a gold watch. Also the gas pump spikes might be lowered in the short term by removing the State government minimum markup retail price controls.
You make a good point about the highway contractors buying influence with our State government. But isn't that the problem with government scarce resource allocation? --influence peddling and corruption? If we had toll roads, then only economically viable roads would exist. There would not be roads to nowhere created by politicians for whatever reasons. Our Wisconsin road grid is sensible because it comes from the earliest of times. But which roads get gold plating is political. The alternatives to automobiles existed in the fifty years before their onset. Then they declined as the populous embraced the car. Alternatives were at their peak before 1900. Intercity roadways in Wisconsin were at a minimum before the automobile created a demand for them. Railroads filled the transportation needs nearly back to Wisconsin's beginning statehood. Therefore intercity roads were never developed until the car demanded them. For awhile bicycle paths followed roadways and required fees, licenses, and fines for unauthorized use. ["Building more roads" (I presume this means unnecessary improvement)--will make the gas price more inelastic?"]--- Might I ask if today there is anybody who wants a car who does not have at least one? Will more divided highways encourage more hours in the car? I don't think your "econ101" class will buy that argument. Certainly the inelasticity of the demand for gasoline has allowed our Governor to apply a tax far in excess of most of the costs and profits of oil companies. If I heard the debate correctly, these gas tax flows were diverted by Governor Doyle to the general funds and replaced by long term highway bonding. I might be wrong about that, but it seemed that was the political argument at election. That is the sort of hokus-pokus one can expect from government, even when the law declares for a balanced budget. Our modern calculating society should be a "society of choice." But free choosing is not a natural state of affairs. Monopoly of one sort or another is pursued by nearly everybody, whether they admit to that or not. But mass demand shifts are culturally systemic. I remember the last of the rural rail passenger service to my home town of Ripon. I traveled by multiple methods for an entire day to cover the seventy miles from Ripon to Madison. I was ten and having my teeth straightened by an orthodontist in the Tenney Building. I began at eight in the morning and arrived back in Ripon on the train at seven, p.m. There were also two bus links. Ripon had two daily railroads. But people would drive to Fond du Lac to catch the mainline rather than take the Marshfield to Fond du Lac train. All you saw on the trains were the Conductor and Trainman, both elderly and high on the bump list. So, people got their choice-----no trains. And Matt, as far as bicycle infrastructure--I agree with that, particularly where that is a municipal choice and solution. But the State could do more with signs and the like as well. Just as they warn of "Slow Children" there could be more cautions to keep the existence of bicycles on motorist's minds. Certainly bike racks are a local issue, both municipal and business centered. Actually, I find the biggest "intercity problem"----farm dogs chasing. Someone should get the "bicycle award of the year" if they have a solution to that problem." Eric Westhagen _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
