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What services should the government be responsible for running?

This is a subtle question without many clear answers. Some public services, such as the defense of the nation, are clearly the responsibility of the government - as each citizen benefits equally it makes sense that each citizen should pay for the country's defenses through taxation.

Who should pay for our roads is not quite as clear. It is obvious that not everyone uses the roads equally so it makes sense that not everyone should pay for the roads. This is typically achieved through some sort of road pricing, normally by taxing cars.

But that doesn't take into account how much you drive, or which roads you use, or when you use them.

That is why many highways charge tolls. That way every user pays for their use of the highway in proportion to how much they have driven on it. The toll system also means that anyone can build and run the highway as they can collect payment directly from the user.

Easy enough with highways. But what about local roads? I doubt anyone fancies a toll boot on every corner or intersection. The good news is that you don't need toll booths, and the slow down of traffic that they entail. Many cities, including London, use camera based payment systems. Cameras on the roads record when cars enter the payment zone and make note of the registration number. The driver is then billed for their usage of the roads (or in this case entering the city, and actually pays in advance using a mobile phone, the internet or any of many other payment methods).

So micro-road pricing is possible - why don't we use it? And why don't we use it to privatize roads altogether and get the inefficient government out of the road business now!

Learn more about this author, James Jones.
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