Maggie's Farm

Instapundit posted a link to this piece by Bennett in praise of our interstate highways.

They get no praise from me. The romance of the open road? No thanks. Boring as hell. Not only that, the interstates were little more than a boondoggle for the car and real estate business.

Why a boondoggle? Because these roads were bought by the taxpayers. The railroads, on the other hand, were paid for by the railroads. The highways created the urban sprawl which all aesthetes and conservation-minded folk, like me, deplore. Only those who live on the coasts know what these highways did to destroy, permanently, natural and agricultural areas - and to damage the railroad industry with government roads.

I use them all the time, but I resent their existence nonetheless.