Economics and Government

One thing that caught my eye while driving to Illinois this past week was the incentives given to drivers to purchase an IPass. I don't take the toll ways due to other routes that are available that I can take without the extra costs. When it does come down to the decision of extra traffic of the toll way, I do tend to give in and cut the extra time off of my commute time. One thing that I hadn't paid any attention to is the discounted rate that drivers get if they have an IPass. In Illinois, it is a 50% savings as opposed to paying cash! When I got to the booth, I noticed that IPass drivers paid 40 cents while cash paying drivers paid 80 cents.

This difference has to do with the added expence the government has with paying the toll workers as well as adding an incentive to drivers to purchase an IPass. The government is adding an extra incentive from the one already gained by the IPass drivers, not sitting in a line to pay the toll.

Thinking about all of the incentives out there to get an IPass, I wonder if the toll rates will increase once the driving population has converted to the new way. Technology is improving and there has to be added costs to the knowledge we are gaining but how long can the government keep the incentives this "cheap". It causes me to think where our money is going and how the government is using incentives to get us to do what they think is best.