Our President, Barack Obama, is pushing the idea of ‘investing’ in infrastructure – primarily roads and bridges at taxpayer expense. I moved to Florida – in the Orlando area - forty years ago. At that time Florida was a relatively small state that had benefitted little from the Interstate Highway program. To say that the state had essentially no expressways would be kind.

There was no overall blueprint, but actions began. The state built a toll-road, the Florida Turnpike, using funds from tolls. The Orlando area built a beltway, (still to be finished) and cross county expressways. The Beeline, now Beach line, connecting Orlando to the east coach beaches was built.

The people who travel on them pay for these roads. No gas taxes, no general revenues and no other assists. The roads are continuously improved, the bridges maintained, consistently upgraded, the neighborhoods screened from noise, etc. The system works.

Why not does the same thing on a nationwide basis? Turn over the existing Interstate Highway system to private contractors to maintain and improve the roads on an ongoing basis. They get a fair return on their investment and we get good roads. The financial agreements with public utilities offer a basis for the drafting of these contracts.

We can have every bit of improvement envisioned under Obama’s plan and more by privatizing these highways. The people travelling on them will pay for them and those who do not will have nothing out of their pockets.