One of the things I liked about President Dwight Eisenhower is that he envisioned and began building the entire interstate system in the 1950s east to west, north to south. He did it with federal money. It was one of the best investments the federal government has ever made.
The government should pay for interstates and bridges. That's why we have a government and we pay taxes, so the collective can get done what we can't afford to do individually.
Louisville and Indiana got two bridges built when there wasn't any federal money available. They did it, however, by charging tolls. For local people who live in one state and work in the other, that's more than $5 a day. It's a tax. And it's scheduled to continue until at least 2053.
Cincinnati did it differently. They let the Brent Spence Bridge deteriorate until one day the Biden administration started printing money. Luck met neglect, and Cincy got theirs for free.
The federal government is bloated, and I support cutting it. I would choose more artful means than a chainsaw, but it needs to be done. And some of that rescued money should be allocated to our bridges to eliminate the tolls.
Our elected officials, both state and federal, should stop patting themselves on the back for the Brent Spence Bridge and get some federal relief for our bridges.
I'm Bill Lamb, and that's my Point of View.
