Hidden costs will make Turnpike deal a bad one
Source: By Ellen Dannin and Phineas Baxandall, Ellen Dannin teaches law at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. Phineas Baxandall is senior analyst for tax and budget policy at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Philadelphia Inquirer (PA),
Tue, May. 27, 2008
The prospect of $12.8 billion to invest in public infrastructure and promises that investing the payout would yield more than $1 billion every year for the life of the 75-year Pennsylvania Turnpike deal may sound like a godsend to a commonwealth filled with crumbling roads and bridges.
Aside from some grumbling about increased tolls for drivers, many regard these potential proceeds like free cash. The truth is the money would have huge hidden costs far greater than the projected toll increases. These costs would leave Pennsylvania poorer rather than better off.