By Steve Van Beek
the Administration proposes to fund the increase by tapping what user revenues there are and by significantly increasing the proportion of transportation programs paid for by the nation’s taxpayers.
…
these are five reasons why these strategies are unsustainable:
(1) Transportation cannot consistently out-compete other domestic priorities,
(2) Experience shows that annual appropriations without dedicated funding sources often go unfunded or fall short of authorized levels,
(3) Injecting taxpayer money into trust funds breaks the historic link inherent in current programs between how monies are raised and how they are spent,
(4) Transportation providers and federal agencies need a solvent and predictable trust fund regime to plan and invest in multi-year infrastructure projects, and
(5) Current surface transportation and aviation policies require reform and changes need to be linked with new trust fund regimes.
https://transportation.nationaljournal.com/2010/02/what-do-you-think-of-obamas-tr.php#1412316oldId.20100216201721560