The Economic Rationale for Road Pricing is Compelling Essay

The Economic Rationale for Road Pricing is Compelling - Essay Example The European Union is studying the marginal cost of pricing in the arena of transportation for about a decade now. The Union funded many ongoing projects in this field. The RAC Foundation handed over the responsibility of determining the mechanisms of motoring taxes to the independent institute of fiscal studies. They were asked to investigate whether the taxes are equitable and justifiable. The report from the institution mentioned the issue of cabotage and stated that the hauliers belonging to the other countries have the potential to deliver goods into the market of UK by paying lower taxes on diesel or ignoring the duty rates of the country (Gillen, 2007, p. 1-2). Road Transport and economics A key role is played by transportation in the economic scenario of today. A term, transport economics is used now to identify the role of transport in economy. The supply is determined by the capacity carriers offer to the travelers while the demand is determined by the number of trips the t ravelers takes within a particular time frame. In order to witness a booming economy it is necessary to maintain a steady system of transport that allows fluent access of goods and services across the country. If the goods get delay because of lacks in transport facilities the profits will fall which will take its toll on the level of efficiency. An efficient transport system will create employment opportunities (Croner, 2012). A vast majority of labor is necessary to carry out the responsibilities of transporting goods to the various places quickly. When the economy is not on its course people are less willing to travel and the economy suffers while in the booming situation frequent traveling not only creates more job opportunities but also contributes in strengthening the transport system. The road transportation is more popular where people tend to find the less costly method of transportation. The road transportation facilities are characterized by monopolistic competition which revolves around the conditions of supply and demand. The products or the services offered in the monopolistic competitive market are same but cannot be substituted. The differentiation in the offered products provides choices for the consumers and the consumers can take the decision on which product they want to avail. This factor acts as the catalysts to drive in more competition into the market as well as new innovations which are less costly and more effective (Seely, 2012, p. 2) The report The report of the IFS recommended a move to a more diverged system of road pricing. The revenues raised as a resultant can be used to reduce the taxes on motor transport. Such a measure is thought to generate sufficient economic gains from reduction in congestion. The measure is also thought to reduce the levied taxes on the majority of driven miles, and leave a certain portion of the motorists in a better off situation as well as provide a stable footing for the taxes on motoring without tak ing any additional measures to raise the net additional benefits from the drivers. The use of roads generates costs that are borne not only by the motorists but also by the wider society. Therefore externalities are accrued to the system of road taxes or the system of road pricing. These externalities suggest that in the absence of effective pricing or taxation policies there is inefficient high level of road use. The taxes have the

Ethics and Morals in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics and Morals in Criminal Justice - Essay Example ince their inception, these laws have inordinately targeted particular segments of our society, creating a perpetual underclass and left millions of people unable to escape from the criminal justice system. Not only is continuing these kinds of policies politically and economically unsustainable, these laws are ethically shameful. Legalizing and decriminalizing addictive substances, but controlling their distribution as the government does with many other goods, represents the moral and necessary solution to a problem that has persisted through a half of a century. However, inherent to the question of change-from comes the question of change-to; that is, if we are to repeal the War on Drugs and restrictive policies, what is the best solution moving forward? After looking at the kind of economic and normative imperatives we face from our drug policies, the kinds of solutions available in the aftermath of decriminalization shall be made apparent using case studies of other nations who have enjoyed success moving in this progressive direction. Although drug policies are well-intentioned, they do have harmful unintended social and moral consequences. For instance, looking at the economics of addiction, government regulation of addictive substances has large-scale and adverse consequences. The substitution and set-point effects of drugs harm a larger number in the preregulation population (Gifford Jr., 1999). Some authors have found a direct correlation between the Drug War and homicide rates in certain populations. These same studies conclude that empirical results indicate drug-control policy is far more expensive and less prohibitive than expenditures made by the criminal justice system. That is, decriminalization of controlled substances is the only financially stable option (Brumm & Cloninger, 1995). In addition to being a massive liability for the Federal government both militarily and with civilian law enforcement, the War on Drugs is the social costs on