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Nobody ever argues that roads, railroads, and highways are an unfair tax burden. It's such a ridiculous straw man. The beef that most Libertarians have with government spending is with entitlement programs.


Sandy Rios, of American Family Radio, has indeed argued in the past that the Interstate Highway System was and is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

So no, it's not a straw man. Some conservatives really do believe this.


> So no, it's not a straw man. Some conservatives really do believe this.

Weak man vs. straw man.

https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/05/12/weak-men-are-superweap...


You have found a pattern. Do you have a point you want to make?


People frequently say "nobody" when they mean "almost nobody" and it doesn't lead anywhere productive to point out the odd counterexample.

A handful of extremists are not representative.


Exactly what evidence do you require to demonstrate that this is indeed a thing?

AFR were extremists a couple years ago, sure, but the Overton Window recently shifted. You may have noticed.


The point is that it is a thing, but it's not a thing anyone here is defending. There is no point in arguing over the things you already agree about.

Here's an example of actual government waste. The ACA provides subsidies for low-deductible health insurance. Those plans are less efficient than high-deductible plans because the plans cost more (to the government and the patient), and because the act of laundering the cost of routine care through an insurance company causes healthcare costs to increase because insurance companies are less price sensitive than patients.

The government does this out of regulatory capture. Health insurance companies don't want people using less expensive plans and health provider companies don't want patients to be price sensitive.

Do you disagree with that? If so we can have a discussion. There is no discussion to be had about whether there should be public roads.


I'll remember this example the next time some conservative starts ranting about Bill Ayers.


Why don't roads count as an "entitlement program?"


Because they are taxed largely based on usage (gas tax).





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