The Interstate system was the best thing to ever happen in this country (other than maybe the moon shots). Nothing like it would have ever happened if didn’t exist...just a bunch of disorganized highways running around each state, just as things were prior to the Interstates.
And, of course, any state that has people passing through would stick up toll booths with outrageous tolls - not to pay for the highways, but to pay for whatever their big-city mayors wanted to spend it on (as is the case today with the PA Turnpike).
Naa, keep the federal system (including the gas tax) in place, but dedicate it ONLY to federal highways...as much as I don’t like the feds, the states have shown to be MUCH WORSE at managing this type of resource.
"...However, it is not clear that the federal government should undertake this infrastructure investment, because the federal government has a poor track record of effectively managing and completing such projects. For example, a number of studies reveal that federal investments in surface transportation have been or continue to be allocated inefficiently, incurring costs that exceed benefits, and there are many studies showing how special interests steer federal dollars toward unworthy infrastructure projects.
In contrast to the federal government, state and local governments have a better track record for investing in infrastructure. Research shows that state and local governments invest more efficiently in highways and mass transit compared to the federal government. This is largely because state and local governments prioritize the most important transportation infrastructure projects and invest dollars in projects where benefits are likely to exceed the costs. When state governments invest in projects that do incur losses – e.g., privatization of the Indiana interstate highway – they are more likely to stem losses and reallocate funds to other, more crucial projects...
Like I said, I am open for the most part on this to consider the options, and I could take your stance.
I admit that, even though I consider myself an economic conservative, I was never a believer of private industry in the space travel sector. I thought it was so big, that only the government could do it, but SpaceX has proven me wrong. (I am no fan of Elon Musk, but he has shown it can be done, if he didn't, someone else could)