The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 117, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 2007 Page: 3 of 28
twenty eight pages : ill. ; page 13.5 x 11.33 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE CANADIAN RECORD
THURSDAY 25 JANUARY 2DD7
3
State Capital
Highlights
By ft Sterling
WAS PRISS ASSOCIATION
AUSTIN—It was a cold inaugural on Jan. 16: so cold and icy, in
fact, the smaller-than-planned-for crowd moved inside-theCapi-
tal. Texans and the rest of the world enjoyed access fo the inaugu-
ral ceremonies via live webcast for the fii'St time ever.
(Jm'. Kick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst were sworn in.
Both men made speeches broad in scope: so broad, in fact, their
words, to many ears, belied grander political ambitions. Perry
regaled strong families as the backbone Of society and outlined
his agenda for his second full term as governor.
He spoke of the need for tighter immigrationeofttrol, a secure
border with Mexico, safer neighborhoods, affordable health care,
improvements in education, substantial and long-lasting proper-
ty tax relief, and budget reforms that would protect taxpayers.
He also echoed a theme that has a Washington, D.C.-ring to it:
"Texas is better off when Republicans and Democrats work to-
gether because our potential is too vast to be spoiled by apolitics
leavened with partisanship," Perry said.
Diverging here for a moment On the subject of bipartisanship
and possible higher aspirations, the governor flew to the nation's
capital with Texas Democratic congressional representatives to
meet with other Democrats.
The Washington, D.C., Democrats let Perry know they have
not forgotten his role in bringing about the unusual mid-term re-
districting in 2004 that squeezed a few Democrats out of office.
Dewhurst also delivered an expansive inaugural speech, with
emphasis on his "Texas Childi'en First" package of legislation.
The legislation, he said, is based on the premise that, "Safe
and healthy children learn, they grow, and they go on to lead lives
that strengthen our State and make us proud."
Dewhurst asked lawmakers to pass tougher laws dealing
with child predators, put defibrillators in public schools and take
illegal steroids out through mandatoiy, random drug testing.
Dewhurst assured the audience there would be a "Jessica's
Law" in Texas, including an automatic 25-year sentence for first-
time child molesters and a death sentence for those convicted a
second time.
Speaker reassures ex-challengers
Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick told The Dallas
Morning News, in effect, he's holding out the olive branch
to members of his own party. Craddick, R-Midland, was re-
elected speaker after Rep. Jim Pitts, R- Waxahachie, dropped
his challenge.
Pitts threw his support behindCraddickwhenitwas decid-
ed the vote for the speakership would be a recorded vote, not
by secret ballot. Earlier, Pitts and another former challenger,
Rep. Brian McCall, R- Plario, individually expressed the need
for a change in atmosphere in the House, because transpar-
ency and bipartisanship in the legislative process had eroded
under the speaker's tenure.
Craddick said he would do a better job of communicating.
State unemployment rate drops
Texas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to
4.5 in December, the lowest in five years, the Texas Workforce
Commission said in a report released Jan. 19. To illustrate the
improvement, the unemployment rate in November was 4.7
percent, and a year ago, in December 2005, the rate was 5.2
percent. Noftagricultural employment grew by 15,600 jobs in
December as Texas employers continue adding jobs. Over the
last 12 months, the Texas economy grew by 213,200 jobs, and
Texas employers have added jobs for 27 consecutive months,
the agency reported.
NONE/, mvt
1CU SEEN THE
WfirV CORKSCREW?'
r L
HP^OUIOOK
INC. UUM\tORT
WW/#,.-
Roadblock highway privatization
By Daniel Schulman
IF YDU'VE EVER TRAVELED cross-country on I-
90, you've driven the Indiana Toll Road, a major
trucking artery that stretches 157 miles across
the length of northern Indiana. What you may
not know is that last June, the "Main Street of
the Midwest," 8S it's locally known, Was turned
oyer to a foreign consortium—made up of the
Spanish construction firm Cintra arid Macqua-
rie Infrastimcture Group (MIG) of Australia
- in exchange for $3.8 billion.
The privatization of the nation's highways, a
taend touched off in 2005 when the City of Chi-
cago sold a 99-year-lease on the Chicago Sky-
way to the same consortium has so far received
little attention. It is, however, big news in the in-
vestment banking world and major firms such
as Goldman Sachs and the Carlyle Group have
already set up infrastructure funds to invest in
what they expect to be a very lucrative market.
Goldman, the primary dealmaker in the toll
road market thus far, is pushing privatization
aggressively around the country, advising In-
diana and other states considering privatization
even as it has created a fund whose sole purpose
is to maximize returns by picking up infrastruc-
tures for the best price possible.
The idea seems to be Catching on. States
including New York, Pennsylvania, and New
Jersey have recently raised the possibility of
leasing major turnpikes, while other states;
from Florida to Alaska, are now considering
inviting the private sector to build and oper-
ate highways and bridges. In all, more than
20 states have passed legislation allowing so-
called publie-private partnerships to lease and
operate toll roads.
The Indiana deal inked by Governor Mitch
Daniels will yield hundreds of millions of dol-
lars in tax breaks for the consortium, which also
receives immunity from most local and state
taxes. Under the deal, the consortium collects
all the tolls, Which it's allowed to raise to levels
far beyond what Hoosiers have been used to. In
fact, one analysis found that if the toll regime in
place in Indiana and Chicago had been applied
to New York's Holland Tunnel for the past 70
years, the toll could stand at $185 rather than
the current $6. Another analysis found that the
value of the road over the 75-year term could
be as much as $11,38 billion—a nice return on
MIG-Gintra's investment, but a potential net
loss of more than $7 billion to Indiana taxpay-
ers.
For companies seeking to buy up American
infrastructure, the financial stakes in privatiz-
ing the nation's transportation arteries are po-
tentially huge. In 1956, a Republicanpresident,
Dwight Eisenhower, convinced Congress that
an integrated, public highway system was vi-
tal to economic development, commerce, and
even national security. Today, Ike's legacy is at
a crossroads. The federal highway trust fund,
financed by the proceeds of the federal gas tax,
is running out of money, in part because law-
makers have not dared to raise the tax since the
mid-90s. At this rate, the fund will be in the red
by 2009. Meanwhile, states and cities desperate
for repairs to decaying roads and bridges, not
to mention new 11 igl m ay s, a re s t ruggl i ng to find
ways to pay for transportation projects.
Enter privatization, which promises a quick
fix—and a means to outsource difficult political
decisions, like raising tolls or taxes, to entities
that don't have to worry about getting reelect-
ed. The notion has the enthusiastic backing of
the Bush administration, but some politicians
are Worried that, as Congressman Peter De-
Fazio, D-OR put it during a congressional hear-
ing on highway privatization last May, We are
"outsourcing political will to a private entity."
"Its a scam, basically," DeFazio, the incom-
ing chair of the House Subcommittee on High-
ways, Transit, and Pipelines, later said in an
interview. "It just does not make sense for an
integrated national transportation system"
With the highway trust fund headed toward
running on empty, it's clear that new transpor-
tation funding options are needed. But before
the nation heads further down the privatization
road, there needs to be a national dialogue—
and not just among the nation's investment
bankers.
Schulman is Mother Jones' Washington,
DC-based Lannan Investigative Fellow. This
op-ed was adapted from a longer version in
the magazine.
OUR POLICY
etters to the Editors
of The Canadian Record
are always welcome, and
will be published if they
are signed and cannot be
considered libelous.
We will not publish
anonymous letters under
any circumstance.
We ask that all letters be
accompanied by a phone
number for verification
purposes. Letters may
be edited for
excessive length.
Each letter should be
received at our office no
iter than Wednesday
noon for publication in
that week's newspaper.
Please mail letters to:
The Canadian Record,
P.O.Box 898,
Canadian, TX7BDI4,
fax to (8DB}323-5738,
or e-mail to
editDr@canadianrecDrd.cDm
rTEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST
j Award Winner
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 117, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 2007, newspaper, January 25, 2007; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth220767/m1/3/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hemphill County Library.