By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: August 22, 2019 3:11 PM

Lynn Townsend was the Chrysler CEO just before Lee Iacocca took over and said something once that could be applied to just about anything. Consumers, he said, want an "Imperial at a Dodge Dart price."

Everyone wants the best, most expensive of anything and they don't want to pay a penny for it. We're all guilty of this, which helps explain a major reason why Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Legislature have stalled getting an agreement on fixing the state's roads.

How are we going to pay for a serious infrastructure rehabilitation process? At least one player in this game, that being the House Republicans, has been adamant about not raising taxes to pay for more than $2 billion in road fixes. Senate Republicans have mostly been resistant, but still willing to wiggle a bit.

Opposing raising more money is the argument the public can't be burdened with more taxes. Sometimes it's a winning argument, but here's the thing: that argument has probably lost and lost a long time ago.

Proof? Well, earlier this month voters in Ingham County's Meridian Township approved a tax increase to fix up their roads. That adds Meridian to a list of, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, some 700 local governments in the state that have assessed additional taxes, all approved by voters, for roads and other infrastructure needs.

There are 29 counties levying 31 different millages for roads, according the County Road Association of Michigan. The largest county of these is Washtenaw. Ontonagon starting levying a millage in 1936 – many drivers on Michigan roads today can be forgiven for thinking 1936 is when their particular road was last repaired.

How much these millages raise has to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The counties combined raise more than $59 million a year for roadwork. A good chunk of change, but still far less than the $2 billion plus Ms. Whitmer and others say is needed in the state.

Beyond what the taxpayers across the state have already agreed to pay, we see now that soybean farmers are paying to help local governments determine the safety of bridges their heavy bean-laden trucks cross. On their own, without government prodding, they are ponying up cash to help not just their industry but local residents.

One could then argue that by action if not express verbal support, the public has answered the question on raising new money to fix roads. One could further argue the answer is yes, raise money. No one would argue people like paying more money, but they will do it when they see it is needed.

It's kind of a dad-thing, you know. "Honey, the washer is broken." Dad: grumble grumble grumble, fiddles with belts, bolts, drums, nearly shorts out the house and then snaps, "Then let's just go get a new damn one."

Has not the public finally reached its spouse moment on paying for roads? Could not policymakers look at the widespread voter results from localities in almost every county over a very long time frame and conclude the public is sick of making do and will pay for new?

It is probably something policymakers should think about as they bump along Michigan roads towards home.