Basically the accountant is being a fuckhead about the company paying for commutes, so the person responds in kind.
This is in Canada, so I hear about how the 407 is private and charges out of the ass for convenience, albeit convenience that’s worth it, but the reason it’s private seems to suck, and the reason it’s so expensive now is due to Ontario not limiting the price hike and so the company that owns the 407 now is free to charge whatever for the next 75 years.
What do you guys think of private toll roads and highways? I get that a lot of people here might not like public roads and taxes, but I’d rather not have to pay that much for a highway trip, no matter what.
The question, as always, is "compared to what alternative"?
If the alternative is "your taxes don't go down at all, and now you have to pay these extra fees to the company that owns the roads" then I am against that. Which let's not kid ourselves is what would happen.
In Washington we privatized the liquor stores about a decade ago, and one of the outcomes of that deal was there's now a 20% liter tax on distilled spirits on top of the normal sales tax. So while in theory I can now buy liquor at the grocery store, in practice I don't because it's way too expensive.
Which makes the state-run liquor stores look pretty good in comparison. But in comparison to the states where you can buy liquor in the grocery store without paying an extra 20% tax, the state-run liquor stores were inconvenient.
What? The state is no longer operating liquor stores? Next you're going to tell me "we privatized farms". Madness. Only the government should distribute goods and services!
If farms were privatized and extra taxes were added that made food cost 20% more than it used to, then I think people might justifiably look back on the nationalized farms with a bit of fondness. "Hey remember when we used to be able to afford food?"
It depends on who is maintaining it, how it's maintained, how easy it is for a competitor to build a new road, and how involved the government is in keeping the status quo. I don't see a benefit to turnpikes in general, but it would depend on the specific road we're talking about. (and I don't know anything about 407) Keep in mind it's not really a "private" road (as in free market) if the government is granting specific companies permission to build and maintain the road. It's like talking about "private prisons" when no such thing exists.
Would you be better off it was a turnip farm? It is private land that I assume is paid for and maintained through private money.
There are lots of shady partnerships that should be dealt with on a case by case basis but in general I say to anyone complaining about tolls "take the long way or stop being poor".
Hah hah hah, nope. You're thinking capitalism. But we live in a cronyism society.
It's public land paid for and maintained in part through public money, that goes into private hands. Specifically, the government builds and maintains the highway, then sold it off to private companies, who then collect the profits on the highway being used. Strictly speaking, it was leased-for-99-years, not sold, which is why the government still helps maintain it. By modern evaluation, the lease price was 10% of what it was actually valued at, or in other words, the government effectively built and maintains it, then just gave it away. And of course, forbids any competitors from showing up.
In terms of "case by case basis" for shady partnerships, it would be a case. In fact, it's lost multiple lawsuits for its shady practices! ...But the payouts were only in the millions, when it makes tens of billions, so why would it care?
It's not just a transponder you need to get, there's a monthly fee AND a usage fee. And that's to get the "discount"
Frankly I'd rather get up earlier
The interstate highway system was built for defense purposes. Before the interstates, it took an army convoy two months to get from Washington DC to San Francisco. With interstates, they made it in less than 1 week.
Partially for defense. Defense was one of several proposed benefits.