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1/29/2014 The Globe and Ma il: Bridge going nowhe re : De troit-W indsor crossing lost in a broke n politic al proc ess

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January 29, 2014

Bridge going nowhere: Detroit-Windsor crossing lost in a brokenpolitical processBy JEFF WATTRICK

Crucial infrastructure stuck in limbo which has little to do with small government rhetoric and

everything to do with protecting the interests of a powerful few

No less an economic theorist than Adam Smith believed government could do few things more important thanbuilding roads.

A robust transportation infrastructure "account the greatest of all improvements," Smith wrote in the Wealth ofNations. "They encourage the cultivation of the remote...They are advantageous to the town, by breaking down thmonopoly of the country in its neighbourhood. They are advantageous even to that part of the country. Thoughthey introduce some rival commodities into the old market, they open many new markets to its produce."

From the Erie Canal to the Transcontinental Railroad to the United States' Interstate Highway System, history hasproven Smith's theory about transportation correct.

It is, therefore, perplexing that the plan to build a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor remains politicallycontentious. Or, I should say, remains politically contentious on the U.S. side of the border. Canada understandsperfectly the bridge's necessity.

Ironic that so many Americans scoff at our northern neighbours supposed socialism (single-payer health care andall that) but yet we free-marketeer Yanks are ignoring the time-tested advice of capitalism's founder.

The latest hiccup for the new Detroit-Windsor bridge is when or if the U.S. government will allocate funds to buildthe crossing's Customs' plaza. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder claims the Obama Administration is dragging itsheels.

On its surface, Snyder's claim that "the U.S. government has largely taken a position that they don't think theyshould pay anything for a facility for the United States government" is a little disingenuous.

Obama has made infrastructure improvements a cornerstone of his agenda. His 2009 stimulus package includingmillions for road improvements and upgrading passenger rail infrastructure.

And let's not forget that Michigan's own refusal to pay for its portion of the bridge led a frustrated Canada to throwup its collective hands and just front us the money for Michigan's share of the bridge.

Even then, neither Snyder nor his predecessor Jennifer Granholm could get state lawmakers to sign off on theproject. Snyder eventually had to resort to some Constitutional sleight of hand to unilaterally approve the bridge.


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As the Customs' plaza goes, it's entirely possible the only thing holding up this aspect of the bridge is normallegislative scheduling. The U.S. federal budget process begins in earnest in about a month, and while the ObamaAdministration has been mum about the dust-up, they've never expressed anything but support for the bridge.

Snyder's comments may be nothing more than a warning shot across Washington's bow, a prudent reminder thatthe bridge can't be allowed to slip through the legislative cracks in 2014.

It's also possible that Snyder used to issue to take a free shot at Obama and shore up his right flank in advance oMichigan's gubernatorial election.

Snyder is unlikely to face a primary challenge as he seeks re-election. However, Lt. Governor Brian Calley's spoton the ticket is expected to be challenged at this summer's Michigan Republican convention. The seriousness ofthat challenge is unknown, but no Republican has ever lost points with the GOP base for blaming something onObama. Why not, if you're Snyder, use the bridge as a kind of wedge issue to show your administration isthoroughly anti-Obama?

Unfortunately, it's also impossible to dismiss Snyder's concern has simple political posturing because nothing abothe bridge project has been simple.

Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun, desperate to keep his Detroit-Windsor bridge monopoly by any meansnecessary, has seen to that.

Moroun's political activity largely focuses on politicians to the right of Rick Snyder and includes buckets of money

anti-Obama groups like Americans for Prosperity. While Moroun is pragmatic enough to play both sides against thmiddle, it seems unlikely that Obama is taking a dive for the Ambassador Bridge owner.

However, Moroun doesn't necessarily need overt collusion from the President. He didn't grow the family businessfrom a couple of gas stations and few trucks into a multi-billion dollar commercial empire without playing theangles.

There is much truth in Snyder's assertion that the U.S. government (or any governmental unit in the U.S., really)doesn't like paying for itself. That's largely thanks to people like Matty Moroun, who fund a political movement benon making government so small that you could "drown it in a bathtub."

The result is a political reality where an obviously appropriate public project, like building another road at thebusiest commercial crossing with the United States' most important trading partner, is held hostage by a

manufactured scarcity of resources that potentially pits funding the bridge's Customs plaza against equally validprojects in other parts of the country.

"Golly, we just can't afford it," say politicians who just happen to receive campaign contributions from men likeMatty Moroun, who profit when the government "just can't afford" to undertake the basic functions of government

Belief in a smaller, rather than expansive, government is a perfectly valid philosophy. Unfortunately, as the limbo which the Detroit-Windsor bridge seems stuck demonstrates, so much of the small government rhetoric (at least othe U.S. side of the border) has little to do with philosophy and everything to do with protecting the interest of apowerful few.

Rick Snyder is correct. The new bridge is too important to too many people on both sides of the border. It can't beallowed to get lost to a broken political process.

Jeff Wattrick writes and blogs forDeadline Detroit1. He is on Twitter at@Woodwardsfriend2.

References

1. www.deadlinedetroit.com/columnist/wattrick2. https://twitter.com/woodwardsfriend


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