Maybe the government shouldn't be responsible for building roads

I recently read Highway Heist, a provocative book by economist James T. Bennett. Professor Bennett’s specialty is in applying free market thinking to subjects that most people believe require government involvement, and this book gets one to wondering how much better things might be if the U.S. had stuck with its initial, constitutional decision that the federal government should stay out of the road business.

Bennett’s history is fascinating, beginning with a bit of carelessness at the Constitutional Convention. As the proceedings were coming to their close, Elbridge Gerry suggested an addition to Article I, Section 8 (which sets forth the spending powers of Congress). The draft had specified that the creation of Post Offices was within congressional authority and Gerry wanted to add “and post roads.” By a vote of 6-5, the drafting committee voted to accept the proposed language.

Two of the young nation’s foremost advocates of government minimalism, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, were not happy about the idea that road building was properly a function of the central government.