MoDOT Needs Mo’ Money

State and Local Government |
By David Stokes | Read Time 2 minutes

I promise you that is the last time I am going to use a version of that line. Before I go any further, I want to give a nod to Jonathan in Jeff City, who loves the blog and reads it every day. I won’t get him in trouble by printing his full name or position, but he’ll know who I mean when he reads this. (Not that it would really get him into any trouble, but it’s fun to pretend it would.)

Combest had a nice link yesterday to a Missourinet story about MoDOT Director Pete Rahn’s talk with legislators. The great part about the presentation is its inclusion of notions that would have been almost unthinkable for Missouri just 10 years ago. Many people would probably recoil at the fee for vehicle miles traveled, but I don’t mind it so much — provided it replaces existing taxes (as opposed to just raising new ones), and provided it’s done as part of an annual inspection, and does not involve GPS tracking of your car and where it goes. The idea is worth considering, as are toll roads and public-private partnerships in transportation. It is great for our state that Director Rahn has been such a promoter of new thinking for Missouri.

About the Author

David Stokes is a St. Louis native and a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (Conn.) University. He spent six years as a political aide at the St. Louis County Council before joining the Show-Me Institute in 2007. Stokes was a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute from 2007 to 2016. From 2016 through 2020 he was Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, where he led efforts to oppose harmful floodplain developments done with abusive tax subsidies. Stokes rejoined the Institute in early 2021 as the Director of Municipal Policy. He is a past president of the University City Library Board. He served on the St. Louis County 2010 Council Redistricting Commission and was the 2012 representative to the Electoral College from Missouri’s First Congressional District. He lives in University City with his wife and their three children.

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