I caught up today with Charlotte Chamber president Bob Morgan (below, left), and asked what questions he thought voters should be asking of North Carolina’s gubernatorial candidates.
He didn’t hesitate for even an eye-blink: Transportation, he said.
2. Second, he said, ask how the state should pay for its transportation needs in the future. Some state officials estimate that by 2030 there will be a $64 billion (not million, billion) gap between state transportation needs and funds.
So far, according to Morgan, candidates are saying, “Fix the N.C. Department of Transportation,” meaning (what follows are my words, not his) get rid of the cronyism and inefficiency that we’ve all come to know and love. Candidates also say they’d stop transferring money from the Highway Fund into the general fund.
Fixing DOT and stopping the transfer of funds may well be excellent ideas, but they don’t solve the problem of there being not enough money to pay for the state’s transportation needs: maintenance, new roads, maintenance, new transit systems, maintenance, better rail service, and did I mention maintenance?
Where does that money come from?
Of course, the answer has to be, “From the taxpayers.” Maybe it’s a sales tax, maybe it’s a gas tax, maybe the state shuts down its education department or UNC Chapel Hill and transfers the money to the transportation department. (Note, I am NOT recommending that.) Regardless of how it’s done, the money is taxpayer money.
Don’t hold your breath waiting on either candidate to say so, though. Both Perdue (left) and McCrory (right) are smart enough to know the transportation mess isn’t going to be solved without more money. And both are smart enough to know it’s really stupid to talk about new taxes during a campaign.
