--- Jim MCGUIRE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I've seen the billboard from the Taxpayers League > "Light Rail Brought to you by Big Government" which > I found highly amusing. It left me wondering who > built the roads... > > The latest one, which I haven't seen (I'm told it's > in Blaine) is shaped like a ballot box. It has four
> "candidates" that you can "vote" for: > > Roads (Republican) > Rail (Democrats) > Don't Know (Independence) > Bikes (Green) > > There's a big check mark by "Roads". Again I'm left > wondering. Isn't the Taxpayers' League primarily > opposed to government spending? Wouldn't the > cheapest answer be "Bikes"? This came out of some research I did for a sideline conversation on this topic, but I suppose it's relevant for the list. - - - begin excerpt - - - Minnesotans use just under 3 billion gallons of gas a year with a .20/gallon gas tax which provides about 590 million dollars a year. According to the Mn/DOT website, gas tax and tab fees are constitutionally dedicated to roads and bridges and by law must be spent on highways: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/information/funding2002/fundingfacts.html Transportation Revenues for Mn/DOT in 2001: (http://www.dot.state.mn.us/trafficeng/otepubl/trivia01/2001budget.jpg) Total: $2.1B User Fees: Motor Vehicle Registration: $441M Motor Fuel Tax: $588M Drivers License: $21M Federal Funds: For Local Roads: $105M For Highway: $378M Other: $84M State Funds General Funds: $105M General Fund Transfer: $168M (to cover reduction in motor vehicle registration cost) I don't know where to put it: Investment and other: $168M Bonds: $42M Transportation Expenditures for Mn/DOT in 2001 Total: $2.1B Local Government Roads and Bridges: $672M State Highways: $1218M Public Safety: $84M Transit: $63M Rail: < $21M Aeronautics: $63M I'm pretty sure that county and local governments also pay something for roads. On Mn/DOT figures alone: Road Expenditures = $1,890M User Fees = $1,050M Remaining from other sources = $840M (One revenue source I was wondering about is truckers - does that go to the federal government? Part of that $378M may come from that...) So, soley looking at Mn/DOT which receives all the gas and tab fees, around $840 million dollars a year is spent to subsidize Minnesota roads. Somewhere around $84 million is spent on transit and rail. Again, we're not talking local or county expenditures, I don't think we're talking policing, and we're not even touching on cleaning up the mess of pollutants. - - - end excerpt - - - I'd be interested in seeing similar figures for all other sources of public funding for roads, public transit, and bicycle lanes/walkways. - Jason Goray, Sheridan, NE __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
