Re: Proposal to ban cars every other day in Toronto
Traffic congestion in certain cities is being met in the traditional ineffective, statist way; i.e., don’t fix it; just make it illegal by prohibiting cars to enter the city every other day, based upon their license plate number. Toronto is considering whether to follow the other lemmings and jump off this cliff. It seems that every service provided by governments devolves into chaos. Governments everywhere insist on monopolizing road building. As demand increases, rather than improve the roads and/or build new ones, government begins what can only be called “road rationing”. Canadians should be used to this type treatment, for it is similar to the way their government provides national health care. If private companies were allowed to build roads, charge for their use, and if government were prohibited from interfering with the process, there is no doubt that traffic congestion would end. Instead, government wants to pretend that road rationing is a worthy solution, whereas it is nothing more than forcing people to accept something other than their first commuting preference, which is driving, despite the increased congestion. There are other government failings that contribute to the traffic congestion problem, such as failing to provide adequate mass transit alternatives, which also are government monopolies everywhere they are allowed to be built. The quality of life in many cities has deteriorated, driving its productive workers into safer, less expensive, and cleaner suburbs. Then government adds insult to injury by criminalizing an adverse symptom of its failure. When the jobs start following the workers to the suburbs, there is little doubt that government will attempt to tax suburbia in some fashion. You heard it here first.