>> Have a job, you need to drive to it. <<
Yes, but before the new system, if you were not in a carpool, you could not drive I-66 AT ALL during rush hour.
Now you can drive it by paying a toll, while carpoolers still can drive for free. Nobody has lost anything, because you can still use the same old roads you were using before.
(And in fact, the old non-tolled roads might be less crowded than before, to the extent that some commuters will now use I-66 instead. It’s basically a win-win situation.)
They aren't. The place exploded with the Bush-Cheney buildup of local contractors to support the new DHS and to support the war in Iraq. The floodwaters of the swamp extend wide and they extend deep - and the I-66 $40 toll is just more rakeoff by swamp critters.
It's DC's principal line of business these days - skimming off the rest of the country before we give it back to you, except we are now skimming so much that the give-back is pretty slim pickings.
I am amazed that those outside the area choose to try to defend any of it. Nothing works. The Pentagon is about the worst of it - because that is where the money is, but nothing is very effective.