Momentum for Privatization

Looks like other people are picking up on the idea that only privatization may be all that we can do to save our transportation infrastructure:

Free markets may be the only way to save the nation's roads and highways. They might even be the best way to save them. The Department of Transportation, under this Administration, has made no secret of its desire to lease highways to private companies, to use tolls and congestion pricing, to auction off fast access to those willing to pay and to otherwise let free markets drive transportation. Under this view, breaking up the government monopoly on transportation could lead to innovation and more choices for the public. Let those who use a resource pay for it, without burdening everyone else with the costs. Let the pain of price ease gridlock. It will reduce both fuel consumption and emissions. Heck, it might even drive down your insurance premiums.

Let us hope that we get to this point. Privatization may not be the solution for every state, nor the solution for every transportation method. But there is a pretty good chance that privatization will lead to all of the things that Marty Jerome's post suggests: innovation, consumer choice, and lower costs. And these should be concepts that all citizens, both left and right, can get behind...