Please, no more drivel about tolls

The Day owes readers an informed discussion on tolls, not the drivel offered by David Collins (thankfully no relation) in his recent column. The issue deserves more than another of his ill-informed rants. His statement that: “…the sad state of Connecticut’s highway infrastructure is now the fault of Trump’s Republican Party here in Connecticut” is ludicrous at best.

Although he correctly says: “Connecticut highways…are woefully clogged and antiquated,” so much for the full facts. Did our highways only deteriorate since Donald Trump was elected? Of course not.

For decades significant Democratic majorities in our General Assembly and Democratic and Republican governors have ignored bloated spending and inefficient infrastructure funding. Legislators and governors have spent Connecticut nearly into the fiscal status of Detroit.

Instead of providing another Collins rant, The Day should ask why our transportation administrative costs are the highest in the nation, and why the legislature allows prevailing wage laws that unnecessarily inflate the labor related portion of public works projects by approximately 20 percent. Can we spend better? Of course.

If Connecticut had more efficient transportation spending, tolls might be necessary. But emphasizing tolls and higher taxes, while ignoring spending reform, just continues our fiscal nightmare.

So, let’s do the hard work and consider the facts.

Marshall Collins

Salem