Federal Highway Spending Research Assignment Paper

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Federal Highway Spending
The notion that roads and especially highways pay for themselves is one that is commonly carried in the public. However, this is the same notion that is fed to the masses by the highway advocates more often than not. Much of the costs are said to be paid through the levies made on gas. However, this is far from the truth except for brief periods in the history of the nation. There is a very minimal relationship that exists between the usage of the roads and the gas taxes paid out for the service. This is unlike the case with state parks and turnpike toll fees (Dutzik, Davis and Baxandall).
On the other hand, according to the Congressional Budget Office, in 2014, the federal spending on the highways totaled to $46 billion. This is a considerable amount that relates close to a quarter of the public spending. More than 95% of the money went into highway construction projects. This is an indication of the fact that, levies on gas have very little to do with the construction of the roads. The report further indicates that the levies collected from fuels have not been enough for the construction projects of the highways. As such, it is always common since 2008, for the government to transfer funds from other sources to bring about some balance in the highway Trust Fund (Cogressional Budget Office).
According to the textbook article much of the levies collected from the road users make a significant contribution towards the funds used on the highways. However there are questions as regards the viability of the taxes to cater for the construction and maintenance of the highways. However, it is important to note that the fuel consumptions levels are not constant. As such, this makes it quite difficult to rely on the levies from t...