I posted it because it made me wonder what a better balance of subsidies and taxes could look like. I agree that mobility and accessibility are important to subsidize and to make possible, but building roads is not the most efficient thing to subsidize.

Yeah... I think roads are critical infrastructure, and therefore just need to be funded properly. Period. Funding cannot be linked to subsidies, or use fees, or other fluctuating funding sources.

Build the roads. Pay for them. Done.

Now, to offset that cost, you can raise funds in other ways - like licensing fees, sales tax on vehicles and fuel, etc - but it should not be linked to road funding. Politicians could say, "Roads cost us $5bn a year, and with my proposal to tax milk, we could offset that cost by as much as $1bn."

It can seem like pulling money from one pocket and putting it into another, but it isn't because it stops road funding from facing cuts or deficits. Work from the base assumption that roads will always cost money, and never pay for themselves, but they are necessary for a functioning nation.

Highway funding needs to be seen as Customer Service is at tech companies: It's always going to cost money. You may be able of offset that by offering T-shirts for sale, or something, but it's just a cost of doing business.