I’m going to both spend more and cut taxes, using magic math that I cannot explain right now, but if I were governor, I’d totally figure it out.

Well, this line HAS won elections…

Posted by nevsky42 on 18 August 02009 @ 11am

I’m quite confident that he can make it work by eliminating waste, fraud and corruption.

Posted by Harry Landers on 18 August 02009 @ 12pm

Why should my hard-earned tax dollars pay for hotlanes for these lazy free-loading pixies anyway!!??

BARACK OBAMA TAKE AWAY SUNNNNN!!!!

Posted by Josh on 18 August 02009 @ 3pm

HOT lanes get paid for by bond issuances. That’s the idea anyway. In 495’s case, VDOT also will be forking over money for interchange improvements. Now are capital markets really giving right now? No, as evidenced by the delay of the I-95/395 HOT lanes.

Debt markets are going to be super stressed when you add the federal deficit, plus state borrowing, plus transportation infrastructure improvements, plus water distribution infrastructure improvements, plus electric generation and transmission builds. We can be thankful now though that consumers are actually paying down their debt load. I don’t know whether capital markets will be able to finance transitioning us to a “green” economy, repairing & improving our aging infrastructure, and absorbing massive federal deficits at the same time. Hopefully, foreign investors will still be willing to power our debt markets. It will be interesting to see.

Posted by tx2vadem on 20 August 02009 @ 11am

HOT lanes get paid for by bond issuances.

Isn’t that a bit like saying that HDTVs get paid for by credit cards? You’ve still got to actually pay for them at some point.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 20 August 02009 @ 12pm

The debt service for most of the bonds is directly tied to the toll revenues. The indenture is between the private party and the bondholders. The state is on the hook for none of that. In the case of the NoVA HOT lanes, Fluor and Transurban (or however the two have setup this concession) will be responsible for debt service. It is impossible to predict what the 80-year lease holds in store for Transurban. But I imagine that for at least the next 10 (after completion, of course), it holds a fat check even after debt service.

Posted by tx2vadem on 20 August 02009 @ 5pm

Ah, I see what you’re saying now.

Posted by Waldo Jaquith on 20 August 02009 @ 8pm