Carona to TxDOT: Quit Marketing Toll Roads
Terrence Stutz, in The Dallas Morning News Trailblazers blog, reports that Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, has introduced a bill to forbid the Texas Department of Transportation from spending money on commercials extolling the virtues of toll roads. Apparently, the voters need a little help seeing the benefits and TxDOT has spent $4.5 million in some friendly persuasion.
In general, government should spend it's time and money doing, not selling the public on what it's doing. Government should function bottoms-up. Citizens should recognize a need. Citizens should vote vote for candidates who promise to address that need. Elected officials should deliver on their promises. Tops-down government, where elected officials identify a need and then spend time and money convincing the electorate that those in government know best, is, in general, a dangerous practice.
That said, I support public service announcements, for example informing the public of the dangers of smoking, or urging citizens not to litter, or asking young men and women to enlist in the armed forces. I also support elected officials being leaders and not just carrying out the wishes expressed in polls and focus groups. To lead, you have to first educate the public on the issue to be addressed. I may not be able to say exactly where to draw the line, but I'm convinced that TxDOT spending millions of dollars telling us how wonderful toll roads are, crosses that line into territory where TxDOT ought not to go.
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